


you kiss me like an overdramatic actor

by itsfromjapaAAAAAAAN (Random13245), TheLordOfShipping



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Be More Chill - Ned Vizinni
Genre: Agender SQUIP, Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Blowjobs, Defense Attorney!Michael Mell, Fights, Fluff, From Sex to Love, Gun Violence, Hate Sex, Hate relationship, Hate to Love, Heavy Angst, Human squip, I COULDNT FIND NICOLE'S LAST NAME AND IM DISTRESSED, Jake and Rich appear much later, Light Angst, Literally within the first chapter Michael succs jerms dick, Love/Hate, M/M, Masturbation, Minor Violence, Nicole appears a little bit before them, Nonbinary Character, Porn With Plot, Prosecutor!Jeremy Heere, Sex, She's in the book okay, Smut, Violence, Well I have some regrets, WhOOPs someONE GETS SHO t, adapted from a roleplay, and they're an asshole, but the squip goes by they/them, catching feelings, happens much much later but damn, i mean dudes a knife is pulled, im sorry jesus, it's not really super acknowledged, nicole is Me™, nothing heavy yet, the good succ, theres sex but there's also a plot hiding in there somewhere, they don't really come in for awhile buT, we named the squip Sebastian we have no regrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-12-19 06:46:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 42,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11892258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random13245/pseuds/itsfromjapaAAAAAAAN, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLordOfShipping/pseuds/TheLordOfShipping
Summary: Lawyer AU- Jeremy Heere is a prosecutor and Michael Mell is a defense attorney.--ft. hate sex, catching feelings™, and crazy friends{SEMI-HIATUS}





	1. you kiss me like an overdramatic actor

**Author's Note:**

> This is adapted from a roleplay. Heavily edited to make sense as one flowing story.
> 
> The title is song lyrics from Slow Down by The Academy Is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Infuriating & •Types of Nonverbal Communication

Michael ground his teeth as the prosecutor spoke, presenting new evidence he'd have to either disprove or discredit. His voice grated on Michael's ears, like nails on a chalkboard, and he absolutely hated the way he kept licking and biting his lips while talking.

Once he finally finished, Michael stood, addressing the jury, "People of the jury," appeal to pathos, he reminded himself, humanize the client, "my client is an innocent man with a family. He's been ripped away from them over false accusations-" he continued to ramble, mostly just emotional appeal, until he started to break down the logic of the case.

Disprove or discredit, he thought, so he went with discrediting. He called into question the legitimacy of the prosecution's sources, brought doubt to the floor. And eventually he rested, sitting down with finality. He glanced over at the prosecutor tauntingly, as if to say 'your move.'

The prosecutor gave him a look that said ‘So that's how you're gonna play it?’ before standing. “I’d like to call my first witness to the stand.” He announced, bringing the witness up and starting the process of questioning. He drained as much information at he could from the witness to prove the defendant as guilty as possible.

“Your Honor, the prosecution rests.” He said before sitting back down and looking over at Michael with a triumphant smirk.

Michael in return glared before standing to cross-examine the witness. Discredit or disprove, he thought, so he started squeezing out any extra information he could get that called into question the evidence just provided. The witness was visibly uncomfortable with this line of questioning so he followed it until there was nothing left to disprove.

“No further questions.”

* * *

Jeremy tapped his foot, waiting for the verdict. He glanced over at the defense attorney. It seemed as if he had a way to call into question everything Jeremy brought to the court. Which was so angering. He looked back at the judge as it was announced the jury had reached a verdict.

The defense attorney didn't spare him a single glance, keeping his eyes firmly trained on the jury as the verdict was finally read.

“We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty.”

The defense attorney looked over at Jeremy with an infuriating smirk. His smile was so aggravating, Jeremy just wanted to kiss it off- wait what. He pushed that thought away, looking over at the defendant. The defense attorney was mumbling something to him, before giving Jeremy another smirk.

Jeremy sighed, starting to pack up his papers. He thanked the witness for their time, and started out. He was stopped by the defense attorney, who was holding out a hand to shake.

“A pleasure doing business with you,” He said with a shit-eating grin. And okay, so maybe he was cuter up close. Whatever.

Jeremy looked down at the defense attorney’s hand before he took it and shook it, though he was incredibly annoyed and sure his face gave that away, “Quite a pleasure indeed.”

The defense attorney held the handshake for possibly a moment too long, getting a good look at Jeremy. Then, he turned on his heel and walked out.

Jeremy left as well, the defense attorney’s stupid grin still on his mind.

* * *

Michael walked back to his office, closing the door, but forgetting to lock it. He tried to get some paperwork done, but for some reason he couldn't get the infuriating prosecutor’s dumb, cute face. It was ridiculous, he wasn't that cute.

He sighed, deciding to text his best friend to vent about these feelings, hoping this would help him get his mind off of it.

>> **you** : this prosecutor who i was just on a case with was INFURIATINGLY CUTE.

By the time he'd hit send, he realized he'd texted the wrong number. He shrugged, not really bothered. He figured he'd either get a ‘wrong number’ or no response.

That was, until he got a response.

>> **Unknown Number** : Sure, but the defense attorney was way cuter.

Michael's brain short circuited. No way, no _fucking_ way. There was no way he'd actually texted the prosecutor he'd been talking about.

>> **you** : Wait, this was a wrong number I thought. Who is this?

He hoped he could just play it off. Pretend this never happened.

>> **Unknown Number** : You just shook my hand ten minutes ago.  
>I'm pretty sure you know who I am.  
>Unless you have a really short memory span?

 _Okay, so I did text the prosecutor. That's okay, that's fine. Keep playing it off._ He thought.

>> **you** : Maybe I do.  
>I never got your name

>> **Unknown Number** : Does Jeremy Heere sound familiar to you?

>> **you** : It just might.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Where's your office?  
>I’d like an explanation for this in person.

Michael quickly tapped out directions to his office relative to the courtroom they'd just left. And then added:

>> **you** : I'm Michael by the way.

* * *

A knock came on his office door not long after. He opened the door, trying to hold his casual smirk. As if he wasn't totally freaking out internally.

“So, I'm cute?” Jeremy, who was standing in his doorway now, snickered- though, he was blushing a bit.

“Maybe I was talking about some other infuriating prosecutor.” Michael retorted, having to fight off a blush of his own.

“You could tell me, unless you're too shy…” Jeremy teased, purposefully drawing out a reaction.

Michael gaped at him for a moment, floundering for what to say, “Well, I wouldn't want to inflate your ego, since I'm sure it's already inflated to hell, but, yes. You're pretty cute.”

“You're not too bad yourself,” Jeremy said with a smirk, giving Michael an obvious once over.

“Yeah, tone down the ego just a bit,” Michael remarked to cover up how flushed he was, “you did just lose a case.”

“I would've won if you hadn't made the jury question every single piece of evidence I presented…” He muttered, frowning.

“That's… kind of my job.” Michael said, furrowing his brows.

“I wish you weren't so damn good at it.”

“Maybe you just need to get better at yours.”

Jeremy narrowed his eyes, “Are you saying I'm bad at my job?”

“I'm not saying anything,” Michael spoke with faux innocence, holding up his hands, “just that if you were better, maybe you could've won that case.” Jeremy opened his mouth, ready to retaliate, but seemingly coming up with nothing. Michael laughed, “You're lucky you're cute because you're pretty bad with words.”

“Well, I supposed I do better with non-verbal communication,” Jeremy said in a low voice, grabbing Michael’s tie and pulling him closer, “let me express what I was going to say there.” Jeremy stood there for a moment before slapping Michael across the face.

Michael's jaw dropped, one hand snapping up to rub his face. That was definitely not what he'd expected when Jeremy had said ‘non-verbal communication.’

“What the fu- you just _slapped_ me!” He said incredulously.

“No shit, Sherlock. Do I need to do it again?”

Michael stood there for a moment, mouth still agape, “No! Jesus,” he rubbed his face again, “motherfucker.”

“If you say so,” Jeremy replied, still smirking.

“And I was just starting to like you,” Michael scoffed.

“Don't get too attached.” Jeremy said with a quiet laugh.

Michael laughed bitterly, “That shouldn't be hard, you're just nice to look at. Not much for conversation.”

“Well, although I find you very attractive as well, you're terribly annoying. I don't think I'd want to talk to you all that much,” Jeremy replied, his smile gone.

Michael opened his mouth, but struggled to come up with the retort he'd had in mind just a few seconds ago. “Well, the- the feeling’s mutual.”

When Jeremy was silent still, Michael found himself staring at his lips. He wouldn't mind a different kind of non-verbal communication-

“Do I have something on my face?” Jeremy commented, clearly noticing where Michael's eyes were.

“No, just asshole,” Michael said, covering up his embarrassment.

“Uh huh.”

Michael looked back at Jeremy’s lips. _Shit_ , he thought, _what do I have to lose?_ He grabbed Jeremy’s face and pulled him into a bruising kiss.

“Mmph-” Jeremy was stiff with shock for a moment before pressing back against Michael, running his hands up into Michael’s hair to pull gently. The kiss was rough and aggressive, and Michael needed to pull away soon to breathe.

Jeremy stared at Michael, face flushed bright red, and his breathing slightly heavier. He stammered for something to say, but didn't manage to get any words out.

“You might be infuriating, but you're not a bad kisser,” Michael commentedly flippantly.

“You're not too bad yourself.” Jeremy breathed out.

“Wanna do that again?” He offered, his voice a bit husky.

“Sure,” Jeremy smirked before connecting their lips again.

Michael was a bit startled by the initiative Jeremy was taking, but quickly kissed back, pressing Jeremy roughly against the door. He reached over and locked the door while he was thinking about it- just in case- and placed his hands around Jeremy’s waist. Jeremy emitted a small, quiet grunt and placed one of his hands firmly on Michael’s shoulder.

Michael laughed at the sound, moving to kiss down Jeremy’s neck. Jeremy tilted his head back slightly, letting out a small sigh. Michael paused before _biting_ down on his neck, positive he'd leave a mark. Jeremy groaned from the mix of pain and pleasure.

Michael repeated the action on another spot of Jeremy’s neck, while also sliding his hands up Jeremy’s shirt- pulling it out from being tucked in his pants. Jeremy shivered at the feeling of Michael’s slightly cool hands running along his torso, letting out another low moan. He placed a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound.

Michael was tempted to make Jeremy move his hand, he was secretly enjoying the little sounds he was making. But, he reminded himself of their location- still in his office, semi-public. He slid his hands up to Jeremy’s pecs, then back down to his waist. He tugged on the hem of his shirt.

“Can I?”

Jeremy nodded eagerly, and Michael quickly pulled his shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the side. He tried to keep track of where it went, since this was his office and he'd have to clean it up. He didn't care at the moment, though.

Michael stopped to appreciate the view of Jeremy’s body. He wasn't incredibly fit- a bit of softness in his stomach- but he was beautiful.

He started to kiss down Jeremy’s body. He eventually fell to his knees, trying to undo the button on Jeremy’s pants. However, he struggled with his sex-muddled mind.

Jeremy huffed a breathless laugh, “Need some help with that?”

Michael mumbled something along the lines of, “no, you fucking asshole, I'm a grown ass man who can undo one fucking button,” finally managing to undo it and unzipping Jeremy’s pants.

“If you say so,” Jeremy muttered.

Michael glared up at Jeremy, slowly pulling down his pants.

“What are you, a snail?” Jeremy commented, though it seemed to stem from frustration with Michael’s teasing.

Michael didn't have any retort, so instead he moved even slower as he pulled down Jeremy’s boxers. Jeremy was obviously growing impatient.

Michael finally pushed Jeremy’s boxers down, taking in the sight. He licked a stripe up Jeremy’s shaft before taking the tip into his mouth. He was pretty decent at repressing his gag reflex, so he paused just a moment before going all the way down onto Jeremy.

“F-Fuck, Michael-” Jeremy moaned, struggling to hold himself back from thrusting into the wet heat. Michael put his hands on Jeremy’s waist to hold him back as he moved incredibly slowly over him. He slowly started to gain speed, drawing new noises out of Jeremy.

“Michael- Jesus-” Jeremy leaned his head back, hitting it against the door a bit harshly. He was too caught up in how good it felt to warn Michael, figuring he'd just find out for himself. Michael was enjoying himself too much to think about it either, though he regretted not having that insight a minute later when Jeremy came down his throat. He pulled off and swallowed- he had no problem doing so, he just would have preferred a warning.

“Coulda warned me,” he said, his voice raspy and hoarse as he stood.

Jeremy snickered a bit, “Sorry.”

“Somehow I don't believe you really are,” Michael sighed, running his hands over Jeremy’s still exposed chest.

“Mm,” was all Jeremy said in response.

“Here,” Michael grabbed Jeremy’s discarded shirt, handing it back to him.

“Thanks,” Jeremy took it, throwing it back over his head and pulling up his boxers and pants.

Michael straightened out his own clothes, trying not to look too rumpled. “Alright, get out of my office I have work to do,” he made a shooing motion.

“Okay, asshat,” Jeremy replied, zipping up and buttoning his pants before slipping out of the office.


	2. who's starving for work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Focus & Scheduled

Once Jeremy returned to his own office, he sat down at his desk and pulled out his work laptop. Though, he felt… different. He shrugged it off, it's probably because he was just sucked off… at work… by the defense attorney. _Yeah,_ he thought, _that’d throw anyone off._

He tried to type, working on paperwork, but his mind kept drifting back to what he'd just done with Michael.

Jeremy adjusted so he was pretty intensely staring into the screen, typing and re-typing and typing some more, trying to find the right words to describe the case. The problem was he always went back to talking about Michael. This was already the fifth time and he was only on his second paragraph.

He sighed. _This is annoying,_ he concluded bitterly, Michael _is annoying- stop thinking about him, goddammit!_ He ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Michael locked his office door, heading back to his desk.

 _Okay, so maybe I just sucked off the prosecutor in my office. Casual. Normal._ He thought.

He started working on sending emails for work and filling out the paperwork for the case- a pretty good mood killer.

After not being able to focus much, he decided to spill the story to Nicole, the friend he'd meant to text in the first place. He had hoped that would help him get it off his mind (it didn't).

>> **you** : you won't believe what just happened

>> **nic-tac** : Ronald McDonald just murdered a child and now he's your client

>> **you** : what? no

>> **nic-tac** : damn

>> **you** : so like  
>the prosecutor on my last case was pretty cute right  
>and I thought I'd texted YOU about how cute he was  
>but nope I texted HIM

>> **nic-tac** : hang on  
>grabs popcorn  
>go on

>> **you** : anyway,  
>I texted him about how cute he was  
>MOTHERFUCKER RESPONDS SAYING ‘yeah but the defense attorney was cuter’  
>so naturally  
>he came down to my office  
>and I sucked his dick

>> **nic-tac** : MICHAEL

>> **you** : whaT  
>aNyWA y  
>now I'm trying to work and I can't focus 

>> **nic-tac** : how come?

>> **you** : becaUSE I KEEP THINKING OF HIM  
>he's so annoying

>> **nic-tac** : ooooo sounds like someone's got a cruuuuush

>> **you** : wtf no

There was no way he had a crush on the stupid, annoying, asshat prosecutor. It was just physical. Admittedly, it was fun, but purely physical.

He clenched and ground his teeth- a habit of his he'd begun noticing- trying hard to ignore Nicole’s teasing. Of course, not being it had hit a nerve, no, it was just annoying. He didn't have a friggin’ crush on the infuriating, frustrating, and irritating prosecutor. He sucked his dick _once_. He was capable of doing that without catching feelings. He picked up his phone again, suddenly tempted to text Jeremy before throwing it down.

Michael stared at his phone for a moment before beginning to contemplate how he could text Jeremy and still maintain his cool façade.

* * *

Jeremy felt like banging his head on his keyboard. He'd probably get more done that way. He needed to finish his work but he could get Michael off his mind.

 _What's so great about him anyway?_ Jeremy thought bitterly, _He's just some aggravating, rude, and smug asshole. I should've forgotten about it all by now._

He sighed angrily, staring up at the ceiling and tapping his foot. _Maybe these thoughts will disappear soon, that would be nice. Then, I wouldn't be thinking about Michael’s pretty mouth wrapped around my c- fucking hell._ He sat back, rubbing his face.

Just as he was trying again to get back to work his phone buzzed.

>> **Michael Mell** : We should do that again sometime. Some place more private. 

>> **you** : Tomorrow at my place?

>> **Michael Mell** : Sounds good. Text me your address.

Jeremy quickly typed out his address and sent it to Michael, his face feeling warm. He wondered if Michael actually would show up at his house. Probably not, not that he cared.

* * *

>> **you** : soooooooooooooooo  
>kind of got a booty call date

>> **nic-tac** : so like a date that's a pretense for sex?  
>or like a scheduled meeting purely for sex

>> **you** : the second one

>> **nic-tac** : ur a hoe

>> **you** : thanks nic  
>I love you too

>> **nic-tac** : aw mikey <3  
>are u sure it's not a date tho

>> **you** : positive  
>why would it be

>> **nic-tac** : bc  
>you've got a heart-on for him  
>(see what I did there?) 

>> **you** : (yes I do)  
>but I don't  
>he's just hot

>> **nic-tac** : Mhm


	3. with one last shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> •Booty Call Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is mostly smut
> 
> whoops
> 
> some real feels come next chapter

Michael went to work the next day a bit tense. The booty call- he refused to call it a date, no matter how much Nicole insisted he liked Jeremy- was still on his mind.

As he walked in, Michael noticed Jeremy, also walking to his respective office. He smirked and winked, hoping his reaction was quick enough.

It must've been, because Jeremy’s face turned red and he looked away. Michael chuckled, quickly turning the corner and tucking himself away into his office for the day.

* * *

Jeremy sighed, closing his laptop at the end of the day. He picked up his stuff before heading out of his office. He then approached Michael’s office door, unsure. 

_Should I wait out here or just leave without him and let him get to my place himself?_ He thought for a moment. _Waiting for him seems desperate, but if I leave it might seem as if I'd forgotten, which I definitely haven't._

His thoughts were interrupted by Michael opening his office door. 

“Oh,” Michael chuckled, a bit startled to see Jeremy just outside his door, “just couldn't wait, huh?” 

“Shut up, asshole,” Jeremy muttered, 

“You're the one outside of my office,” Michael pointed out, “I'll meet you at your place,” Michael said, having to remind himself to hold his casual façade. 

“Alright.” Jeremy nodded, heading out. Michael gave him a moment to get ahead, watching him go. He chuckled softly, thinking about how cute it was- no, _annoying_ , it was _annoying_ \- that Jeremy had waited outside his office. 

* * *

Michael arrived and walked up to the door. He paused, wondering if he should knock. Eventually he decided _yes, yes I should_ , because he's never been there before and should show some respect for the house, even if the homeowner was incredibly annoying. So he knocked. 

Jeremy opened the door, “Oh, I wasn't expecting you,” he tried to joke. Michael looked at him blankly. 

“Hilarious.” 

“Yes I know,” Jeremy stepped out of the doorway, allowing Michael entrance. Michael stepped in, looking around. It was a pretty nice place, for an asshole’s house. “Enjoy your stay,” Jeremy said awkwardly, visibly nervous. 

Michael furrowed his brows. It was charming how nervous Jeremy seemed- he meant irritating, of course. It was irritating. He sighed, turning to Jeremy and deciding to take the initiative by kissing him. Jeremy was a bit surprised before kissing back, placing his hands on Michael’s back. 

Michael pulled away just slightly, his lips still brushing Jeremy’s as he spoke, “You seemed nervous,” he mumbled as an explanation. 

“Do I seem nervous now?” Jeremy replied before pressing their lips together again, rolling his hips into Michael’s. Michael groaned, low and gravelly, into the kiss. 

“We should probably move this to your room,” he suggested, “before we end up fucking on the floor.” 

Jeremy chuckled, “I suppose,” before leading Michael to his bedroom. 

As soon as they were in, Michael shoved him onto the bed, kissing him aggressively. Jeremy made a small noise of surprise, but kissed back, holding Michael's face. Michael smirked into the kiss, having gained the upper hand, if only for now. He reached up to take Jeremy’s shirt off, but found it was a button down. Which was annoying, despite how good Jeremy looked in it, because each button was a new enemy for Michael. 

Jeremy watched as Michael struggled, laughing slightly, “Come on, I don't have all day,” he commented, smirking a bit when Michael glared at him. 

“I said I could handle one button, this is like, ten,” he complained, “did you wear this on purpose?” He huffed, about halfway through the buttons. 

“Maybe.” Jeremy snickered. 

“Asshole,” he scoffed as he finally reached the bottom button and threw the shirt backwards off of Jeremy. Once again, he took in the view; for someone so annoying, Jeremy was really attractive, and Michael was rudely reminded of that when he had him laid out shirtless beneath him. 

“There's no need to stare,” Jeremy quipped, though he was blushing. 

“You're pretty good looking, ya know, for an asshole,” Michael replied. Feeling the need to even out the clothes situation, Jeremy pushed Michael’s suit jacket off of him, then lifted up his white under-shirt. 

Michael leaned down, kissing Jeremy’s neck, tracing the marks he'd left the day before. Jeremy hummed, tilting his head back. Michael sucked a deep purple mark into his neck, and Jeremy let out a high pitched whine, instinctively using his hand to cover his mouth. 

Michael reached up to move Jeremy’s hand, “We aren't in public this time,” he reminded him, returning to kissing and sucking along Jeremy’s neck. Jeremy let out a spill of new noises, whines and whimpers, which only encouraged Michael. 

Michael started to run his hands over Jeremy’s chest, stopping to rub one of his nipples, looking for a new reaction. 

And reaction he got; Jeremy’s breath got caught in his throat before he choked out a moan, coming apart under Michael’s touch. Michael smirked, pleased with the reaction. He started to kiss down Jeremy’s chest, now taking one of his nipples into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue. Jeremy emitted a broken moan, using one hand to grip the sheets tightly. 

“You like that, huh?” He teased slightly, loving the way Jeremy was reacting. 

“Sh-Shut up, asshole,” Jeremy muttered in response, panting slightly. Michael shifted, pressing a knee against Jeremy’s crotch and finding him already hard. 

“I'll take that as a yes,” he smirked. He sat back, looking over Jeremy. Jeremy averted his eyes, his face totally red to the tips of his ears. “Your face is so red,” Michael chuckled. 

“I know,” Jeremy huffed, only getting more embarrassed. 

“It's almost cute,” Michael smiled, kissing high in Jeremy’s neck- just below his ear. 

“Almost?” Jeremy asked in mock offense. 

“Yeah, almost, if I didn't know you were such an ass, I might be interested in your for more than sex,” he said bluntly. 

Jeremy rolled his eyes, “It's not like you'd treat me any better if I wasn't an ass.” 

“Mm, you don't know that,” Michael hummed, starting to undo Jeremy’s pants. 

“Maybe I shouldn't be an ass for awhile so I can see how you treat me and prove myself right.” 

“Don't strain yourself.” 

“I’m only an ass to the people I want to be an ass to,” Jeremy scoffed. Michael raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh?” He finally got Jeremy’s pants undone and slid them down. 

Jeremy nodded, though he was a bit distracted, “If you didn't know, I can actually be nice to people. Big surprise right?” 

“Hm,” he hummed, considering this, “well, so can I.” 

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, “Then prove it.” 

“And how would I do that?” Michael chuckled. 

“Well, you could maybe not insult me as often as you do, and in return, I'll do the same.” Jeremy suggested. 

“Hm, maybe,” he started kissing along Jeremy’s neck again, trying to distract him. Jeremy let out a shaky moan, and Michael smiled, pleased he could so easily distract him. He ran his hands down Jeremy’s body, one hand touching him over his boxers. 

Jeremy inhaled sharply at Michael’s touch before groaning. The groan turned into a whimper when he realized how desperate he sounded. 

“Eager,” Michael chuckled, sliding his hand just past the waistband of Jeremy’s boxers. 

“I fucking ha-hate you,” Jeremy stammered, not seeming really dedicated to what he was saying. He was too focused on how Michael’s teasing was beginning to seem unbearable. 

“So much for trying to be nice,” Michael commented, sliding his hand down a little bit more. Jeremy whimpered, and Michael was tempted to continue teasing, make him beg for it. But, he decided not to, instead he reached down and finally took Jeremy’s cock into his hand, stroking slowly. 

Jeremy breathed out a noise of pleasure, attempting to buck his hips up to get more contact, but Michael put a hand on his hip, holding him down and continuing the slow pace he was setting. Jeremy whined, desperately wanting Michael to go faster. 

Michael laughed at his desperation, almost wanting to go even slower because of it. Eventually, though, he stopped, removing his hand entirely before hooking his thumbs into Jeremy’s waistband and pushing down his underwear. 

“Shit-” he fumbled around in his pants pocket, pulling out a condom and tossing it down next to Jeremy, “Came prepared.” 

“Uh-huh, you forgot lube,” Jeremy motioned to the bottle on his bedside table, “but I've got some over there.” 

Michael flushed, “Whatever,” he grumbled, grabbing the bottle and tossing it next to Jeremy, realizing he was still half dressed. He started unbuttoning his own pants, “How do you wanna do this?” He asked, not being particularly picky himself. 

Jeremy thought for a moment. “I want to ride you.” Michael felt his face heating up, realizing he was very on board with this idea. He nodded, shucking his pants and underwear quickly and laying on his back. 

Jeremy sat up, finally taking this moment to look over Michael’s body. “You're beautiful…” he muttered. Michael flushed, opening his mouth to reply, but having nothing to say. He looked away to hide the inevitable blush creeping up his skin. 

“Aw, you're blushing,” Jeremy chuckled. 

“Shut up, a-asshole,” Michael muttered. 

“Make me,” Jeremy replied with a smirk. Michael grabbed his face, kissing him roughly. Jeremy, successfully silenced, returned the kiss almost immediately. 

Michael put his hands on Jeremy’s hips, gently pulling him onto his lap. Jeremy whined softly, blushing when he felt how hard Michael was. Michael smirked at the noise, opening the lube and thoroughly coating his fingers before reaching between Jeremy’s legs and gently pressing one inside of him. 

Jeremy gasped at the new sensation before moaning. Michael would never admit it, but he was enjoying the noises Jeremy was making. Jeremy tucked his face into Michael's shoulder, trying to hide how red his face was. Michael slowly added a second finger, stretching him out and curling them slightly. 

“Nngh- ahh, M-Michael-” Jeremy panted breathlessly between moans and whimpers. Michael breathed out slowly. It had to be illegal the way Jeremy moaned his name. He worked in a third finger, slowly moving them in and out. 

Jeremy’s breaths were ragged as he pushed down on Michael’s fingers, wanting more. Michael chuckled softly, spreading his fingers a few more times before removing them. Jeremy whined at the loss of contact, desperate for it. 

Michael laughed, “Patience,” he said as he opened the condom and rolled it onto himself before adding more lube. “Whenever you're ready.” 

Jeremy positioned himself above Michael’s cock. He lowered himself onto it, letting out a low groan. 

Michael moaned, “F-Fuck, Jeremy,” he choked out, his voice strained. 

Once Jeremy lowered himself completely, he stopped for a moment to get used to the feeling. He was panting softly, whining quietly every time he exhaled, his eyes half-lidded. The tip of his own cock was leaking precum and his hair was an absolute mess, and Michael couldn't take his eyes off of him. He looked totally debauched, and it was beautiful. 

Michael put his hands on Jeremy’s waist firmly, waiting for him to start moving. Jeremy soon started to move, lifting himself slightly only to go back down. Every time he moved down, he moaned, unable to hold it in. Michael moaned, too, pressing his fingers into Jeremy’s waist, leaving little bruises there. 

“Jesus,” Michael breathed out. 

“Ohh, Michael,” Jeremy whined, arching his back slightly. Michael probably could've came just from listening to Jeremy’s moans. 

“Jeremy,” he tilted his head back, moaning. Jeremy started to speed up, moaning at the end of each breath, feeling himself getting close. Michael's breathing sped up, turning into short pants and gasps. 

“Fuck,” he groaned, “I-I’m close.” 

“M-Me too,” Jeremy gasped, feeling tears prick his eyes. His cock twitched, aching for release. Michael took one hand from his waist, wrapping it around his cock and stroking it quickly. Jeremy cried out in pleasure, letting a couple of tears fall before he came, moaning Michael's name. 

Michael was right behind him, coming with a strangled moan. He noticed Jeremy’s tears, “Shit- are you okay?” 

“Yeah, don't worry,” Jeremy replied breathlessly, wiping away the tears. He smiled weakly. Michael didn't want to admit he was concerned, so he bit his tongue. Jeremy lifted himself off of Michael before lying down next to him, really not wanting to do anything else at the moment. 

Michael sat up slightly, taking off the condom and tying it off and then getting up to throw it away. He contemplated for a moment before starting to get dressed. Jeremy was still panting a little bit, but was otherwise silent. He didn't do anything about Michael getting dressed- presumably to leave- because it's not like that's a bad thing. 

Michael pulled his pants on, then shirt. He glanced over at Jeremy, who looked totally wrecked, and was tempted for a moment to crawl back into the bed with him- _no, nope_. He grabbed his jacket, double checking to make sure he’d retrieved all of his discarding clothing. 

He looked again at Jeremy and bit his lip before saying, “This was fun, I'll text you later.” And he headed for the door.


	4. to make it happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Insistence & Take Me To Dinner First (Okay)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a lot of texting and feelings and there's a lot of perspective changes bc I wanted to cover what each of them are thinking as everything happens

Michael had left, but he felt strangely not-okay about it. He tried to ignore the feeling and drove himself home. As soon as he was home, he texted Nicole.

>> **you** : so we had sex  
>and I left right  
>but I feel weird about leaving

>> **nic-tac** : hmmmmmmm  
>maybe that's cos  
>YOU LIKE HIM

Michael rolled his eyes, not even justifying her with a response. He knew how he felt better than she did, and he certainly didn't like Jeremy.

He tried to shrug off the weird feeling, opting instead to try and get some work done he'd brought home to do. He bit his lip, trying to ground himself, as his mind kept slipping back to what had just happened with Jeremy- _the feeling of him, the way he moaned- no, stop, not the time._

After failing several times to focus he turned back to texting Nicole.

>> **you** : this is such bullshit  
>I can't fucking focus

>> **nic-tac** : yes it is  
>you should just admit you like him  
>it would make my life a lot easier

He glared at the screen as if she could see him, tossing his phone away.

He couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he'd stayed. They'd probably just fight, or at least that's what he told himself to tamper down the lump in his throat.

Michael picked his phone back up, a bit disappointed to see no texts from Jeremy, though it's not like he expected them. Not that he cared either way, it was just sex.

>> **you** : if I ‘admitted’ that I'd be lying tho :/

>> **nic-tac** : okay well consider;  
>-you're upset over making it a clear one night stand/sex thing  
>-you can't stop thinking about him

Michael sat back, rereading those texts. He began to consider it, but decided _no_ , he did not have a crush on Jeremy.

>> **you** : I've considered it

>> **nic-tac** : and?

>> **you** : I don't have any crush on anyone

>> **nic-tac** : siGHS LOUDLY

Michael chuckled, opening his text conversation with Jeremy, typing out ‘hey’ before backspacing it. He wasn't going to text ‘hey’ like some kind of shy middle schooler with a crush. He was a grown adult and he had no crush.

He ground his teeth, typing ‘hey’ again, contemplating sending it.

* * *

Jeremy laid back onto the bed after Michael had left. He was right, all this had been was just a good fuck, a one night stand situation. Of course, that didn't bother him, he hated Michael. He stayed in bed for awhile before deciding to take a shower and clean up.

He walked into the bathroom, stripping down and turning on the shower. He stepped into the shower, feeling the still slightly cold water hitting his body. He shivered, reminding himself it would get warmer soon.

The marks Michael left ached a bit, as well as his ass, but he tried to ignore it as he began to wash his hair and body. After a little bit, he hopped out of the shower and dried himself off.

He kind of wished Michael hadn't left, though he didn't know why. He just… wanted him to stay. He shrugged it off, wrapping a towel around his waist and stepping out of the bathroom to get dressed. After he was dressed again, he went back into the bathroom to blow dry his hair- he liked how fluffy it made his hair.

He dries his hair, brushing it out while doing so. Once he was done, he pushed back a stray strand of hair with his hand. He imagined Michael doing the same thing, smiling before pulling him into a sweet kiss- _what the fuck? No, stop, you don't like him and he definitely doesn't like you._ He sighed in annoyance, walking to his living room to watch something on TV.

Jeremy sat down on his couch, wincing slightly as his butt still hurt a bit, but he dealt with it. He picked up his phone from where he'd abandoned it earlier on the coffee table. He decided to try texting Michael.

>> **you:** Hey.

 _Fuck_ , he sounded kind of awkward. Like a nervous teenager who had a crush on someone.

* * *

Michael practically jumped out of his skin when his phone buzzed, indicating Jeremy had texted him. A simple ‘hey’ like he'd been considering sending earlier. How did he respond?

He realized a bit belatedly how nervous one text was making him- his leg was bouncing and if he clenched his jaw any tighter, he'd bite through his own teeth.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Hey.

>> **you** : Hey

* * *

>> **Michael Mell** : Hey

 _Shit, now what?_ He hadn't thought this far ahead.

>> **you** : Well that was nice

 _Smooth, Jeremy, real smooth._ He stared at his phone, anticipating a response.

* * *

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Well that was nice

Michael snorted. He could almost sense how nervous Jeremy was through text, and there was something comforting about it.

>> **you** : Yeah it was

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Maybe we should do it again sometime

>> **you** : Definitely.

Michael liked that idea. He wouldn't mind going out to dinner or- _no, that's a date. No_.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : When and where should we meet again?

Michael was tempted to offer dinner, but he had to keep his calm and cool front. He typed and retyped his response a few times.

>> **you** : I’d invite you to my place, but maybe buy me dinner first

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Fine, there's a nice restaurant I know nearby, we can go there.

Michael hadn't expected such a compliant response, so he was pleasantly surprised.

>> **you** : Sounds good ;)

He winced. _A winky face, really?_

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Who even uses ‘;)’ anymore?

>> **you** : Obviously I do.  
>Asshole.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Hey, I'm the one who's going to be taking you to dinner.

>> **you** : Doesn't mean you're still not an asshole.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Whatever fuckface

>> **you** : …  
>fuckface?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Yeah  
>I just say that sometimes  
>As an insult, ya know

>> **you** : Uh huh  
>are you twelve?  
>just not discovering curse words and coming up with nonsense insults?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Excuse you it's a perfectly valid insult  
>It means a stupid or annoying person  
>Look it up

>> **you** : Did  
>Did you just look that up to prove your point?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : No! I knew the definition!

>> **you** : Sure you did fuckface

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Shut up

>> **you** : You're just mad cos I called you out

>> **Jeremy Heere** : I'm not mad

>> **you** : Offended?  
>Embarrassed maybe?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Just shut up okay?  
>I'm not mad, offended, or embarrassed

>> **you** : Ooooooh now you sound a bit defensive

>> **Jeremy Heere** : I'm not getting defensive!

>> **you** : Sounds like what someone getting defensive would say

>> **Jeremy Heere** : whatever

>> **you** : so you admit you were defensive?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : I have nothing to admit

>> **you** : Oh? So you're not ~madly in love with me~?

He snickered, purposefully adding the tildes around his words to emphasize the sarcasm, he didn't want to give the wrong impression.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Don't be an ass

>> **you** : But I'm so good at it

>> **Jeremy Heere** : There are probably plenty of things you're good at  
>Do those

>> **you** : Hmm, but none quite as fun as annoying you

>> **Jeremy Heere** : What about fucking me?

>> **you** : That was pretty fun, but I dunno  
>Annoying you is pretty entertaining

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Eh, I don't agree  
>Annoying me isn't all that entertaining

>> **you** : It is for me :-)

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Then I'll just annoy you in return

>> **you** : And how do you plan on doing that?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Fight me, asshat

>> **you** : Oooh, I'm so annoyed

>> **Jeremy Heere** : It'd be easier to annoy you in person

>> **you** : Well you are taking me to dinner  
>plenty of time to annoy me then (:

>> **Jeremy Heere** : True  
>By the way does 6 pm Saturday work for you?

>> **you** : Sure

Michael almost immediately flipped back to his texts with Nicole, informing her.

>> **you** : sooo might actually like  
>have a date?  
>with him?

>> **nic-tac** : WHA t

>> **you** : shh  
>idk if it's even really a d a t e,

His phone buzzed and he switched to his texts with Jeremy.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : So, it's a date?

 _Fuck_.

>> **you** : I guess it is

And then to Nicole;

>> **you** : okAY SO MAYBE  
>ITS A DATE  
>one date doesn't mean anything tho

>> **nic-tac** : it does when u like someone tho

* * *

>> **you** : So, it's a date?

>> **Michael Mell** : I guess it is

Jeremy felt his face redden. _So, it is a date_. Somehow, that made him feel happy, like there were butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. It was probably just general nervousness, he'd be over it in no time.

>> **you** : Alright :)

>> **Michael Mell** : Doesn't mean I like you

>> **you** : I know

Jeremy kind of wished it did- _no, what the fuck, you hate Michael._

>> **Michael Mell** : Good

Jeremy glanced at the clock. It was already 9:30 pm. He had to wake up early in the morning for work, he might as well get a good night’s sleep.

>> **you** : Well, I'm going to get some rest. See you at work tomorrow.

>> **Michael Mell** : Bed at 9:30? Weak.


	5. you've won the role

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad Case & Drunken Idiot (Slip Up)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
> 
> (^^^what i expect half the comments to be after this chapter)

The next morning, Jeremy arrived at work wearing a nicer suit, since he had a case that day. He went to his office to gather the evidence he had collected during his work day yesterday. He was tired. Although he'd went to bed at 9:30, he'd ended up staying awake until 12:45. He was kept up by his thoughts and then as well he had taken out his laptop and checked and then double checked the digital copies of all of the papers he needed for today’s case.

Once he had what he needed, he began to head to the courtroom. _I hate early morning trials…_ , he thought, _who wants to be in a courtroom this early?_

He arrived a few minutes after the defendant and his lawyer, setting down his stuff on his allotted table. He had read over the case details several times, and it seemed pretty clear this person was guilty. Shouldn't be a difficult case. He looked again at the defense table, realizing now the defense attorney was Michael. He smirked.

_This should be fun._

* * *

Michael heard someone else entering the courtroom and turned to look. _Oh fuck, of course it is, of course it's Jeremy. A case I'm going to lose, against Jeremy._ He glared as harshly as he could at Jeremy, who snickered.

Michael tried not to think about how cute Jeremy was, especially in his suit, or the way he moaned- _not the time, not the time._ He forced himself to focus on the case.

They made their opening statements, called witnesses, the whole process. And, when it came down to the verdict, Michael was unsurprised to hear _‘guilty’_.

Michael knew Jeremy was looking at him, but he kept his attention trained on his client, who looked terrified. He walked him through what happened now, feeling Jeremy's eyes burning holes in his head.

He sighed, scooping up his papers and hurrying out of the courtroom without sparing Jeremy a second glance. He walked to his office, shutting his door harshly.

He really hated cases like this. He tried to shrug it off, filling out the papers he needed for it, but that just built up the negative emotions. His phone buzzed several times, but he ignored it, even muting it until the end of the day.

As he walked out, he passed by Jeremy but didn't acknowledge him at all. Once he was home, he unmuted his phone to fourteen texts.

>> **nic-tac** : hey  
>I know you had a bad case today  
>you feeling okay?  
>Michael?  
>please text me back  
>was it really that bad?  
>MICHAEL?  
>okay are you ignoring me?  
>Asshole  
>answer your phoooooone  
>I'm worried about you  
>talk to me  
>what happened?  
>are you okay?

>> **you:** I'm dandy

He hoped his sarcasm wasn't lost in the text.

>> **nic-tac** : need me to come over?  
>I can bring ice cream  
>the usual

>> **you** : no, I'm okay

He was half tempted to open his texts with Jeremy and say something, but he knew he shouldn't, not while he was still stewing in the results of the case. Instead, he ordered some crappy takeout food and continued texting Nicole.

>> **nic-tac** : aw ;( I kinda wanted to hang out

>> **you** : sorry nic  
>maybe some other time

>> **nic-tac** : its been so long since we had a movie night or smth

>> **you** : awwww do you miss me :3c

>> **nic-tac** : shut the fuck up  
>get that paw away from ur stupid face

>> **you** : :(

>> **nic-tac** : >:(

Michael chuckled, feeling significantly better after joking around with Nicole a bit.

* * *

Jeremy didn’t want to admit it, but he was little hurt when Michael didn't even look at him both as he was leaving the courtroom and as they were leaving work. He tried to ignore it, it's not like it matters. Michael was probably just upset over losing the case.

He arrived home, setting his things down on the coffee table and heading to the kitchen to sort out dinner. He checked his phone once, a bit disappointed to see no texts from Michael.

After he'd eaten dinner, he picked up his phone again, deciding _fuck it_ before texting Michael.

>> **you** : Hey. Good job today.

He wondered if Michael would take that as sarcastic. Which, to be fair, was partially true. Michael read the text, but didn't respond. After waiting another minute, Jeremy tried again.

>> **you** : I mean it. I probably wouldn't have won if your client was obviously guilty.  
>It was a tough case for the defense.

>> **Michael Mell** : Yeah.

Jeremy sighed, realizing Michael wasn't really up to talking right now. He remembered that he had a six pack in his fridge. _One celebratory drink couldn't hurt,_ he shrugged to himself.

* * *

>> **Jeremy Heere** : heyyyyyyyyy

Michael frowned at the text. It was really unusual for Jeremy to text like that.

>> **you** : Hey?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : can y ou come ovrr? I wanna see ypu

>> **you** : Are you okay? Why're you typing like that?

Michael sent the text while also gathering together his things, just in case something was really wrong and Jeremy needed him or-

>> **Jeremy Heere** : typign like whhat? im finw

>> **you** : Jeremy, is something wrong?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : yea, you’ve beem ignorin gme all dayy, asdhole

Something clicked.

>> **you** : Are you drunk?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : nooooo

>> **you** : Yes, you are. I'm not coming over while you're drunk.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : aaw why noooot?  
>pleerrrrreeease? i wannA swe you

>> **you** : I'm not babysitting you.  
>We aren't dating.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : yes we aare

>> **you** : No, we’re not.  
>Go to sleep or something.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : onlt if y ou join me ;)))

>> **you** : Jesus, you're drunk. No.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : damnitt,,

>> **you** : Sober up, asshole, then I might consider coming over.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : oksy

There was a long pause, wherein Michael started to think maybe Jeremy had decided to go to bed and stop texting him.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : I drank a glass oof wate r, are you fuxkign happy?

>> **you** : You're still drunk.  
>Why do you even want me to come over?  
>Don't you have friends?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Well, i have one friend, his names Rich, nice guyy ince you grt to know hinm, i don see him much becayse of work thoughh  
>besides I reaaly wany just,,, talk to uou nd kiss yo u and see uouy pre tty facee

Michael sighed, feeling the last of his resolve crumbling.

>> **you** : Fine, I’ll be over in about ten minutes.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : yyyyay thankkkk yoooouu

* * *

Michael pulled into Jeremy's driveway, getting out of his car and heading to the door. He debated knocking before deciding Jeremy was probably too drunk to answer the door properly, so he knocked once before entering. “Jeremy?”

Jeremy was on the couch, and he turned to look over at Michael. His cheeks were flushed and he was wearing a dopey grin. He was still in the suit he'd worn to work, except now it was a bit messed up and his tie was resting on his shoulder.

“HeyyyyyyyyysssMichael,” he slurred, the two words somehow becoming one drawn out word.

“Hi, Jeremy.” Michael sighed, “You look worse than I thought you would.” He sat down on the couch next to him.

“Do I reaaally look thaaat baaad?” Jeremy frowned a bit.

“Pretty bad.” Michael nodded.

“If I look so bad, then whyyydo you like me?” He seemed genuinely confused. “Doesn't everyone only fuck gooood looking people? I thought that's howsssociety worked.”

“I don't like you.” Michael said stiffly. “You're good looking when you aren't drunk off your ass.”

“Fffuck you,” Jeremy mumbled in return.

“Maybe when you're sober,” Michael quipped, taking out his phone to check the time and quickly tell Nicole about his current predicament.

Jeremy whined, “Why not nooooow?”

“Because,” Michael said slowly, “you're drunk, and I'm sober. Not happening.” He shook his head firmly.

“Pleeeeeeeaaaase?” Jeremy begged, leaning on Michael.

“No,” Michael shoved Jeremy off of himself, a bit more roughly than necessary.

Jeremy whined again, “Fiiiine. You're meeeeean.”

“No, I'm just trying to make informed, smart decisions for the both of us right now.” Michael grumbled.

“Making ‘informed, smart decisions,’” he used air quotes, “can wait, we have plenty of time to do that at wooork.”

“Jeremy, we are absolutely not having sex when you're drunk.” Michael tried to sound authoritative.

“Will you fuck me if I sober up a bit?” Jeremy sounded desperate.

“There's no way you could go from being this drunk to anywhere near sober.” Michael sighed, “Maybe in the morning.”

“Fine,” Jeremy mumbled, crossing his arms.

“C’mere, you drunk asshole,” Michael said, scooping up Jeremy bridal style, causing Jeremy to squeak in surprise, “let's get you to bed.”

“But I don't wanna go to beeeeed,” he whined.

“If you sleep, you'll sober up, which means we can have sex.” Michael said patronizingly. He laid Jeremy down into his bed, turning to leave and sleep on the couch.

“Waaait, don't leeeave me,” Jeremy whined, grabbing ahold of and tugging on Michael’s arm. Michael frowned, feeling something weird tugging at his heart at the same time Jeremy tugged on his arm.

“Jeremy…”

“Please?”

Michael looked at the door. Jeremy was probably too drunk to really understand if he did just leave anyway… He sighed, walking around and getting in on the other side side of the bed. Jeremy smiled.

“Thanks.”

“Whatever,” Michael grumbled, keeping himself on his side of the bed.

Jeremy closed his eyes, mumbling, “Love you,” as he slipped off to sleep.


	6. you've played your part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can We Forget About The Things I Said When I Was Drunk?

Michael froze where he was laying. Suddenly, he wasn't at all tired. He glanced over at Jeremy, who was out cold. He figured he could slip away without him waking. He slowly slid off the bed, escaping the room, which suddenly felt quite suffocating.

He went to the kitchen, getting himself a glass of water, trying to ignore what Jeremy had said. _He's just drunk,_ he told himself, _just drunk._

He eventually ended up lying in the couch and falling asleep there.

* * *

Jeremy eventually woke in the morning, getting out of bed and heading for the kitchen and a cup of coffee. He tried to start piecing together the events of last night. He'd started to forget after the third beer.

Michael stumbled into the kitchen a moment later. “Oh. How are you feeling?”

“I feel like shit.” Jeremy answered honestly, “What happened last night?”

“You were really drunk, called me over, practically begged for sex, and I tucked you in after promptly rejecting you.” Michael summarized. Jeremy nodded, that sounded like him.

“Ah,” he laughed quietly, “well, drunk me is always pretty horny.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Michael snorted. He looked like he was holding something back, but Jeremy wasn't sure what.

“Did I say anything weird?” Jeremy asked, suddenly nervous about that. _Shit, what if I said something I'll regret?_

Michael paused for a prolonged period of time before saying, “Uh, nope, not really.” Jeremy got the feeling he was lying through his teeth.

“Are you sure?” He raised a brow, “I think everyone says at least _one_ weird thing while drunk.”

“Nope,” Michael shook his head, but he wasn't a very convincing liar. But, though Jeremy was sure Michael was lying, he kept his suspicions to himself.

“If you say so.” He turned to pour some of the coffee that had just finished into a mug, “Want some?” He offered to Michael.

“Please.” Michael nodded. Jeremy poured another mug full of coffee and passed one to Michael.

“I hope you like it black.”

“Like my men,” he joked. Jeremy laughed, looking at his own pale skin.

“That must be why you hate me so.” He replied dramatically.

“Yep.” 

After finishing his coffee, Jeremy set the mug down and said, “I should go get changed and ready for work.”

“Probably a good idea,” Michael nodded.

Jeremy went back into his room and picked out a simple outfit for the day. He then went into the bathroom and fixed up his hair and made sure he didn't look too hungover.

He left the room, expecting to see Michael, but finding no one. He sighed, slightly disappointed. _Oh, well, Michael's probably tired of your shit anyway. Besides, there's no reason to be upset; you hate each other right? ...Right_. Jeremy began cleaning up the mess of beer cans from the previous night.

Eventually the pain from his headache got to be too much, and headed to the bathroom cabinet to retrieve some pain relief medication. He down two with a quick sip of water. He really hoped this would kill the headache.

* * *

Michael hadn't just left after sex, so why did he feel the same weird not-okay feeling? They weren't dating, and Jeremy didn't need him there to keep an eye on him anymore, so it didn't matter. He went home to get himself ready for the day.

He was taking off his clothes to change when he decided to shower, since the clothes were slightly sweaty and gross. So, he went to his bathroom and started the shower before hopping in. He hoped to wash the day- or rather, last night- away, but the empty silenced the shower gave him too much time to think about what Jeremy had said while drunk.

He got out of the shower soon after the thoughts started up again, drying himself off and trying to shake the thoughts too. He glanced at the time and decided to just leave his hair wet- he didn't have the time to dry it off too- before getting dressed and ready for work.

Once he was dressed, he grabbed his things for work and headed out the door. His mind was suddenly wondering what Jeremy was doing until he squashed the thought.

He hurried to his office, not wanting to see Jeremy at all on his way there. He shut and locked his office door, sitting down at his desk. He resigned himself to another day of paperwork. This wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when he'd applied to law school.

He realized about halfway through the day he had his ‘date’ with Jeremy tomorrow. And he'd been ignoring him most of the morning. _Shit…_

>> **you** : Hey, we still on for dinner tomorrow?

The response came incredibly quickly.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Yes, if you still want to.

>> **you** : Cool.

He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he'd been ignoring Jeremy most of the morning. He couldn't get his mind off of what he'd said, and it was irritating.

It was kind of ridiculous that Michael was here constantly thinking about something stupid _Jeremy_ had said. He should just tell him what he said and make him own up to his own stupidity, maybe then he'd feel better.

>> **you** : Actually, I lied this morning. You did say something pretty stupid last night.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Oh? What did I say?

He knew Jeremy would ask that, but it didn't mean he wanted to answer it any more.

>> **you** : You told me you loved me.

He typed out the response as quickly as he could, hitting send immediately so he couldn't back out of it.

* * *

>> **Michael Mell** : You told me you loved me.

 _Oh, shit,_ Jeremy eyes widened and felt his heart jump into his throat. He hastily typed out an explanation.

>> **you** : Oh my God, I'm sorry, I say things like that when I'm drunk- or at least that's what I've been told. I didn't mean that.

Jeremy ran a hand through his hair. _Goddammit,_ he hated when his drunken self said things he wanted to keep to himself. _It wasn't even true!_ Or at least, he told himself it wasn't.

>> **Michael Mell** : I figured you didnt, you were pretty drunk.

Jeremy wasn't sure why this sent a sinking feeling into his stomach. Of course Michael didn't even think for a moment that it could've been true.

>> **you** : Yeah. Sorry.

>> **Michael Mell** : It's fine. Like I said, you were really drunk.

Jeremy set his phone down. _Jesus Christ, that was close._ He began to do his paperwork, but his mind was now clouded over with thoughts.


	7. you've been cordially invited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are You Sure & A Rather Dramatic Date Night

Michael sighed, not feeling any better about the whole situation. Well, maybe a little from having finally told Jeremy the truth, but whatever relief he might've felt was squashed by ‘ _it didn't mean anything_ ’ and he couldn't understand why. Of course it didn't mean anything, what did he expect? That should've been a relief in itself.

As he left work that day, he was a bit surprised to not see Jeremy. He realized that maybe Jeremy was now avoiding him. He shrugged, trying to ignore the weird feeling in his stomach.

Almost as soon as he was home, Michael collapsed onto the couch. He debated texting Jeremy to ask if he was okay- not because he cared or anything, no, but because he didn't want to end up babysitting again. Instead, though, he texted Nicole, keeping her updated on the situation. She was pretty invested.

>> **you** : so

>> **nic-tac** : WAIT  
>lemme grab some popcorn

>> **you** : all I said was ‘so’

>> **nic-tac** : that's keyword for ‘I got shit to say’

>> **you** : fair

>> **nic-tac** : OKAY GO

>> **you** : ALRIGHT  
>so Jeremy was like really drunk last night  
>and uh

>> **nic-tac** : UH?

>> **you** : as he was falling sleep  
>he um  
>told me he loved me?

>> **nic-tac** : W H A T  
>MICHAEL  
>DONT JUST STOP TEXTING ME YOU FUCK  
>G eT b AcK H ErE

>> **you** : sorry letting my dog out

>> **nic-tac** : oh  
>WAIT YOU DONT HAVE A DOG  
>STOP AVOIDING ME

>> **you** : what else is there to say?

>> **nic-tac** : WHAT DID YOU SAY

>> **you** : notHING HE WAS ASLEEP

>> **nic-tac** : OKAY AND THE NEXT MORNING?

>> **you** : still nothing

>> **nic-tac** : MICHAEL

>> **you** : so maybe I didn't tell him til the afternoon  
>over text

>> **nic-tac** : jesusfuck  
>get ur shit together  
>admit you like him  
>fly off into the sunset live happily ever after

>> **you** : wh  
>stop projecting  
>you want to fly off into the sunset with some girl don't you?

He flipped back to his conversation with Jeremy, tempted to text him. He had an idea of what he wanted to say, but no justification for it. He reread the words ‘it didn't mean anything’ until it bothered him enough to admit maybe he did like Jeremy.

>> **nic-tac** : there's no specific girl  
>yet  
>but maybe yes

>> **you** : well I'm good  
>I don't want to fly off into the sunset with anyone  
>especially not Jeremy

>> **nic-tac** : but he loves you?

>> **you** : he was drunk  
>he said he didn't mean it

>> **nic-tac** : :/  
>being drunk doesn't make you say things you weren't already thinking

Michael went back to his texts with Jeremy, now having a good justification for asking finally;

>> **you** : Are you sure you didn't mean what you said?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : I think I'm sure. Why’d you ask?

>> **you** : People don't usually say things when drunk that they weren't already thinking.

He repeated what Nicole had said, the perfect excuse for asking.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Oh, I see

>> **you** : So I just thought I'd ask. For clarity.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Alright

>> **you** : Wait what do you mean you ‘think you're sure’?

>> **Jeremy Heere** : I don't know. It's confusing.

Michael just felt more and more confused the further this conversation went on.

>> **you** : That doesn't make anymore sense.

>> **Jeremy Heere** : Yeah.

He was starting to get a bit frustrated, trying to decode what Jeremy was saying.

>> **you** : Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow.

* * *

>> **Michael Mell** : Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow.

>> **you** : Okay

Jeremy set his phone down. He realized Michael would probably talk to him about this tomorrow. When he was taking him out to dinner. He started to freak out a bit internally.

_What if Michael doesn't like me like I like him? I don't even know if I like him! Michael probably thinks I'm weird or something… Fuck it, why am I even worried? Everything's going to be fine, right? Right!_

After eating dinner, he took a quick shower before heading to bed, managing to fall asleep despite his worry weighing him down.

In the morning, it took Jeremy awhile for him to even realize that it was, in fact, Saturday, and he did not have work. He was almost out the door when it occurred to him with some relief. That relief lasted until he remembered he had a date with Michael later tonight.

Jeremy sighed. Maybe he should cancel their plans. No, wait, he didn't want to hurt Michael- _and since when do I care about that?_ Besides, he'd obviously be lying if he told Michael he was busy. He just didn't want to talk about what he’d said and reveal his weird, confusing crush on Michael. Especially when he'd been revealing it to his face.

* * *

Michael woke up in the morning and was immediately thankful he didn't have work. He'd gone to bed last night without eating dinner- and, come to think of it, he hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch- and it was catching up to him. He got up and made himself some breakfast.

He was halfway through a nice, calm breakfast when he was suddenly rudely reminded of the fact that he'd have to talk to Jeremy tonight about everything he'd said last night and the night before. He quickly lost his appetite, pushing the plate away before getting up and cleaning up.

When five o’clock rolled around, he began thinking of ways to get out of the date. He double checked the address, hoping maybe it was far and he could use ‘getting lost’ as an excuse. It wasn't. He sighed, resigning himself to simply having to go on this date.

He drove himself to the restaurant, walking into the lobby, looking around for Jeremy. He spotted him just as Jeremy waved and smiled sheepishly at him.

Michael walked over “Uh, hey.”

“Hey.”

He was geared up and ready to talk when he was promptly interrupted by the hostess calling Jeremy’s name to get seated. He tabled what he was going to say, waiting until they were seated.

Once they were seated, Jeremy pulled his menu in front of his face, clearly avoiding eye contact. Michael sighed, not opening his menu.

“You're gonna have to talk about it.”

“I know,” Jeremy replied, sounding extremely nervous.

“So,” Michael reached up and over, plucking the menu from Jeremy’s hands and placing it on the table, flat, “talk.”

“Right, uh…” Jeremy trailed off, looking more and more nervous the longer this went on. Michael fixed him with the best expectant-lawyer stare he could. “Um… well, it's just…” The look seemed to be making Jeremy even more nervous, so he softened his expression a tad.

“Jeremy...?”

“Yeah?”

Michael frowned, sighing in frustration, “You have to tell me what's going on here.”

“Is there anything in specific that you want me to tell you?” He said, acting aloof.

Michael’s frown deepened as did his frustration, “Yeah, what exactly you meant by what you said when you were drunk.”

“It was nonsense, I wasn't thinking correctly.” Jeremy shrugged.

Michael looked away, trying to hide the sudden disappointment he felt, then looked back. “Okay, and what you said in your texts?”

“I… I dunno, I'm just…” Jeremy trailed off, his face heating up. “It's weird.” Michael clenched his jaw.

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.” Michael said, feeling anger starting to rise. He looked away, this time tempted to leave.

* * *

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck,_ Jeremy thought, _nothing is going right._

“Don't be mad, please,” he pleaded. _Just… just say it! Who cares if he leaves?_ “I… IknowthisisreallyweirdandI’msorryandIdohateyou,don'tgetmewrong,butIsortakindofhavealittlebitofacrushonyouandImight’vekindameantwhatIsaidwhenIwasdrunkandIknowyou’reprobablygoingtohatemeevenmorenow,butyouwantedtoknow,so…” He said all in one breath.

Michael blinked. “Okay, say that again, but slowly.”

Jeremy took a deep breath, “I know this is really weird and I'm sorry and I still do hate you, but I sort of maybe have a crush on you and I didn't want to tell you because I thought you'd hate me even more than you already do and also I may have kind of meant what I said when I was drunk and I'm sorry.”

Michael breathed out, all of his anger seemingly gone, “I, um-” he paused, “I kind of, uh, like you too?” He said as if it was a question.

“Y-You do?” Jeremy asked in disbelief.

Michael looked away, his face turning red all the way to his ears, “Yeah, kind of.”

Jeremy's face reddened, too, “Well, that went better than expected.”

Michael shifted awkwardly, “Yeah,” he mumbled, now trying to hide himself behind the menu in the same way Jeremy had done earlier. Jeremy took the menu from his hands, in the same way Michael had done.

“There's no need to hide.”

Michael grumbled something that sounded like, “my face looks stupid,” before pulling the menu back up.

“I think it looks beautiful, especially when it's all red like now,” Jeremy said, trying to muster up some confidence.

Michael huffed, “That's gay, Jeremy,” from behind the menu.

“I'm gay,” Jeremy replied before correcting himself, “well, I'm bi actually, but still.” Michael laughed, setting down the menu only once he was sure his face was its normal color again.

“So… you said I could go to your place after I took you out to dinner, right? Just before I asked you out?” Jeremy asked.

“I did, didn't I?” Michael laughed, amused, “Yeah, sure.”

“Alright. I'm kind of interested to see your bedroom.” He smirked.

Michael narrowed his eyes in faux suspicion, “Jeremiah Heere, are you trying to get into my pants?”

“Maybe I am.”


	8. but im not impressed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends & •Staying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sex with Feelings™
> 
> my favorite shit

“Ya know, my friend called it,” Michael huffed, feeling a bit indignant at having to admit it.

“Who's your friend?” Jeremy asked.

“Her name’s Nicole. Total bitch sometimes,” he rolled his eyes, though his words had no real bite to them. Not that long ago, she’d gone through all of his passwords and made them ‘fuck you,’ or some variation of it because she was upset with him.

“Huh. You should let me meet her sometime.”

“No,” Michael said quickly, “Absolutely not.” He shook his head, not wanting to even imagine the way she'd handle Jeremy.

“Aw, c’mon, she can't be that bad.”

“She will eat you alive,” Michael said, his voice even and serious.

“Oh.” Jeremy was silent for a moment. “So, she's a cannibal?”

Michael could tell he was trying to joke, but said, “I wouldn't be surprised. I met her in kindergarten, so if she was I think I would've noticed by now, but I don't know…” he shrugged, “I'm sure she has her ways.”

“Huh. You should meet my friend Rich sometime.” Jeremy suggested.

“Is he as insane as Nicole?” Michael asked. He wouldn't want to be on the other end of Nicole's inevitable interrogation.

“I… I don't think so.”

“Let me give you an idea of her. So, we met in kindergarten, like I said, and she told me to not touch her gummy bears or she would, and I quote, ‘beat my butt into the playground concrete.’” He paused for effect, “I wasn't anywhere near her gummy bears. So, naturally, in my five-year-old mind, I decided to take one of her gummy bears.” He shuddered, “I have never regretted something so much.”

“Okay, nevermind, Rich is probably as insane as Nicole.”

“Fantastic,” Michael said sarcastically, “well if you introduce me to Rich, I'll introduce you to Nicole.” He wasn't sure if that was a threat or a promise.

“Alright,” Jeremy agreed.

“Are we- and I'm only asking because Nicole will want to know- are we dating?” He asking, throwing in the middle part about Nicole to cover up his own nervousness.

Jeremy’s face started to turn red, “Um, yeah? I suppose we are.”

* * *

After dinner, Jeremy was led back to Michael’s place.

“You wanted to see my room?” Michael asked, holding out a hand.

“Lead the way.” Jeremy took his hand. Michael led him to his room, pulling him close. “Looks nice,” Jeremy breathed out.

“Yeah,” he put his hands on Jeremy’s waist, leaning him over the bed, “looks a lot better with you in it,” he mumbled before kissing him. Jeremy kissed back, placing his hands on Michael’s back to pull him closer.

Michael adjusted them so Jeremy was now laying flat on his back on the bed and he was straddling him, moving to kiss along Jeremy's jaw. Jeremy let out a breathy sigh, tilting his head back slightly.

The marks he'd left before had mostly faded, Michael made sure to leave new ones leading down from Jeremy’s neck to the collar of his shirt. He made a slightly frustrated noise as he ran into Jeremy’s shirt.

“Another fucking button-down,” Michael grumbled, beginning to attempt taking it off of Jeremy.

“I wore it just for you,” Jeremy replied, snickering.

“I'm breaking up with you,” Michael huffed, not really meaning it as he continued to move down from button to button.

“Yeah, right.”

“I am,” he insisted, though he was still working on the buttons. He reached the bottom button and threw the shirt backward off of Jeremy.

“Hm,” Jeremy didn't seem to believe him.

“Okay, maybe I'm not,” Michael ran his hands down Jeremy’s chest, causing him to shiver, “but only because you're hot.”

“Hmph, and here I thought that my looks weren't the only thing you liked about me,” Jeremy huffed, though he didn't seem all that offended.

Michael looked him over, “Nope,” he declared before resuming the trail of hickeys from Jeremy's collar down to his chest. Jeremy groaned softly, arching his back slightly. Michael smirked and pulled away to examine his handiwork. Jeremy now had a line of purplish marks that went from the edge of his jaw to the top of his chest. He bit his lip to keep from laughing at the thought of Jeremy having to go work with that. “Good luck covering these up,” he trailed his fingers over the line.

“Thanks, asshole,” Jeremy muttered in reply.

“Anytime,” he replied, glad for himself that he was making out unscathed. He started to take off Jeremy’s pants, but that involved another button.

“I should wear button-downs more often, just to annoy you,” Jeremy commented.

“I'll just stop having sex with you,” Michael said, at least half meaning it.

“Fine, I won't.” Jeremy replied, easily made to change his mind. Michael smiled, having won. He finished undoing Jeremy’s pants, unzipping them and sliding them down off of him.

He sat up, shucking his own shirt, before leaning back down to kiss Jeremy. He pressed his knee against Jeremy’s crotch. Jeremy inhaled sharply before groaning. Michael smirked, rolling his knee against him, enjoying the sounds Jeremy was making. Jeremy moaned, grinding up against Michael’s knee in an attempt to get more from him, but Michael moved his knee with him so there was no extra contact or friction.

He hooked his fingers into the waistband of Jeremy's boxers, just playing with the elastic, but not pulling them down at all.

“Fuck- Michael, stop teasing,” Jeremy whimpered.

“Hmm,” Michael pretended to think about it, “no.” He started to pull down Jeremy's boxers, agonizingly slowly. Jeremy was panting, letting out a needy whine, begging Michael to move faster. Michael smirked, enjoying the power he had over Jeremy in that moment. He eventually slid Jeremy's boxers off of him, moving down to slowly take Jeremy’s cock into his mouth.

Jeremy bit his lip, just barely holding back a strangled moan. Michael purposefully moaned around him, causing Jeremy to jerk up into his mouth. Michael did his best to repress his gag reflex and allow Jeremy to fuck into his mouth. Jeremy groaned, continuing to thrust up carelessly. He was too busy thinking about how good it felt to think he could possibly choke Michael.

Michael pulled off a moment later to prevent exactly that from happening. He looked over Jeremy, who looked totally wrecked already. He quickly removed the last of his own clothing.

“Can you reach the lube over there?” He gestured to the drawers beside the bed. Jeremy reached over and grabbed it, passing it to Michael. Michael opened it, pouring a generous amount on his fingers and thoroughly before pressing one finger against Jeremy. Jeremy moaned, trying to press down onto Michael’s finger. Michael chuckled, sliding the finger inside him.

Jeremy exhaled shakily, “Nngh- Michael-”

Michael moved his finger slowly, thrusting into Jeremy carefully a few times. He watched Jeremy’s face carefully for any sign of discomfort before adding a second finger. Jeremy made a noise of pleasure, panting deeply as he ran a hand through his own hair. Michael spread his fingers a few times before adding a third, curling them carefully.

“Hng- Michael, just- fuck me already-” Jeremy pleaded.

Michael laughed, “Impatient,” though he obliged, removing his fingers and slowly sliding himself into Jeremy. Jeremy arched his back, gasping before moaning. Michael moaned too, staying still fully inside of Jeremy, waiting for him to adjust.

Jeremy looked up at Michael, eyes half-lidded, panting heavily. After a moment, he stammered, “M-Move.” 

Michael nodded, slowly starting to thrust slowly, groaning, “Jeremy-”

“Oh, Michael,” Jeremy moaned in reply. Michael continued the slow thrusts, moaning softly at the end of each breath.

Jeremy, in turn, was emitting a series of small whines and groans, spreading his legs a bit. Michael started to gain a bit of speed to his thrusts, still being careful. 

“Fuck, Michael, harder, faster, nnggh-” His voice was broken as he begged for more. He gripped the bed sheets underneath him, letting out a shaky breath. Michael almost laughed at how desperate Jeremy sounded, but obliged, moving his hips faster and thrusting harder.

“Ngh- Jeremy,” he moaned.

“God, I-I’m so close,” Jeremy whimpered. 

“Me too,” Michael breathed out.

Jeremy moaned loudly when Michael hit his prostate, feeling his eyes begin to water. _Fuck, don't cry, Michael's going to be worried again don't cr-_ his thoughts were promptly cut off by Michael slamming into his prostate again. He choked out another moan, trembling slightly. Michael could tell by the new intensity that he'd found the sweet spot and continued to thrust at that angle.

Jeremy moaned every time Michael rammed into him, breathless. He soon came with a, “Michael-!” He was unable to stop himself from shedding a couple tears as he did so. Michael came a moment later, slowly pulling out of Jeremy. It was then he noticed the tears.

“Shit- are you okay?” He wiped the tears, “You should've told me if I was hurting you-”

“No,” Jeremy was breathing heavily, “Michael, I- I usually cry during sex, I'm sorry if I worried you. I was trying to keep myself from doing it, but I just couldn't.”

“Oh,” Michael sighed with relief, “okay, that's fine, as long as I wasn't hurting you or something.”

“You weren't,” Jeremy laughed quietly, “I've actually ended up full-on sobbing before, you barely got anything.”

“Oh? Is that a challenge?” Michael chuckled, getting up to grab a washcloth to clean them both up.

“Maybe it is,” Jeremy replied with a smirk.

Michael came back with a washcloth, wiping up the mess before laying back down on the bed, pulling Jeremy close. Jeremy gave Michael a tired smile.

“You're staying, right?” Michael asked, remembering leaving last time with a pang of regret.

“Of course, I'm not going to leave like you did, asshole,” Jeremy frowned a little.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, though he was glad Jeremy was staying.

“It's fine,” Jeremy sighed.

“No, it's not, I shouldn't have left, I was being a dick,” Michael replied softly, running a hand through Jeremy’s hair.

“Hm,” Jeremy looked at Michael, secretly enjoying the feeling of his fingers in his hair. “Well, you're not wrong.”

Michael laughed humorlessly, continuing to run his hand through Jeremy’s hair, enjoying the feeling of the soft locks between his fingers. “So, I’m sorry for being an ass.”

“Well… I suppose I can give you another chance, but only because you apologized,” Jeremy responded.

Michael chuckled, “You kind of already did, though.”

“Eh, true,” Jeremy snickered.

Michael looked at Jeremy, still playing with his hair, and was suddenly struck by how much he actually liked him. _Fuck, Nicole was right._ He could feel his face heating up.

“Your face is red,” Jeremy pointed out, dusting his fingers over Michael's cheek. Michael opened his mouth to retaliate, but couldn't come up with anything.

“Yeah. So,” he sighed.

“I don't know, I just find it kind of amusing you're embarrassed right after we had sex.” Michael huffed. It was silly, but he couldn't stop strange swell of affection he suddenly felt.

“Whatever.”

Jeremy chuckled, “You're adorable sometimes.”

Michael frowned, pouting, “No I'm not.”

“Yes, you are.”

Michael shook his head, pressing his face into the pillow, “No,” he said, the sound muffled by the pillow.

“Stop denying it, you're actions aren't helping you prove me wrong,” Jeremy giggled softly. Michael lifted his face from the pillow to glare at him as harshly as he could muster. Jeremy laughed a little before saying, “That's still not as bad as the look you gave me earlier at the restaurant.”

“Yeah, ‘cos I was actually a bit mad then,” Michael huffed.

“Well, I’m glad you're not mad at me anymore. Or, at least, I don't think you are.”

“I'm not,” Michael confirmed with a tired sigh.

“That's good,” Jeremy yawned softly.

“Yeah,” Michael tucked his face into Jeremy’s neck, snuggling closer as they both dozed off.


	9. and im definitely not excited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bye Bye Bye & Morning After ~~(Jeremy Heere Is A Fucking Furry #Confirmed)~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lot of dialogue and shit
> 
>  
> 
> ~~also my rp partner has been lurkin in them comments~~

Michael woke up in the morning still naked and totally tangled up with Jeremy. He sighed. He didn't want to wake Jeremy, nor get up himself, but once glance at the clock was all he needed to know they both had to get up soon. He carefully started to untangle his limbs from Jeremy's, rolling out of the bed without waking him. Jeremy whined a little in his sleep, rolling over. Michael chuckled softly, starting to get dressed for the day.

After he got done, he figured he should wake Jeremy up. He placed one hand on Jeremy's shoulder, shaking him gently, “Jeremy.” Jeremy grumbled in response, turning to the other side. Michael laughed, “C’mon, Jer,” he prodded, trying a bit more to wake him up.

“What time is it?” Jeremy asked groggily, not really awake yet.

“About eight a.m.” Michael read off the clock.

“Can I sleep a little longer? I still have until eight-thirty…” he paused, “I only have half an hour.” He sat up, seeming a significantly more awake now. “Uh, should I use the clothes I wore yesterday or do you have anything I can change into…?” Michael chuckled at the swift shift from sleeping to awake.

“You can borrow something from me, that is, if it fits.” He nodded to his closet.

“Alright,” Jeremy got up, walking over to the closet. He skimmed over the clothes, picking something out, “Would this be okay?”

“Sure,” Michael said, though he was sure the pants would be too big. Jeremy tried the clothes on and everything fit _except_ for the pants. Jeremy attempted to remedy this by grabbing his belt from his outfit yesterday and adding it. Michael snickered as Jeremy scrambled with the belt.

He turned to Michael, “Do I look okay?”

“Yeah, just try not to trip on the pant leg,” He pointed downwards at how long the pants were on Jeremy.

“I won't. Hopefully.”

“It would be pretty funny,” Michael shrugged.

“Yeah, more like pretty embarrassing.”

Almost immediately after saying that, Jeremy’s phone went off playing _Bye, Bye, Bye_ by N-Sync quite loudly. Michael started laughing at it. Jeremy hastily made his way to his own discarded clothing and fishing out his phone.

He answered it, “What the fuck, Rich?”

 _“Don't greet me like that Mr. I-Haven't-Been-Resthponding-To-My-Friend’sth-Texths-All-Week.”_ Rich responded, clearly irritated.

“Look, I’m sorry, I've been super busy with work and stuff.”

_“Really? What kind of sthuff is more important that talking to me?”_

“I've been spending time with my boyfriend-” Jeremy winced the moment the word left his lips, not totally prepared for the onslaught of shouting that was about to commence.

 _“Oh my god, you have a boyfriend?! Why didn't you tell me?!”_ Rich shouted over the phone, loud enough that Michael could hear. He wasn't able to make out clear words, but he could hear the general hum of shouting.

“So, that's Rich?” He pointed to the phone.

“Yeah,” Jeremy responded, “Listen,” he said, turning back to his phone, “I have work in about thirty minutes, I need to get ready. I'll talk to you later, okay?” He didn't wait for answer before hanging up on Rich, knowing if he didn't, Rich would keep talking nonstop. “Anyway, do you have a coffee maker?” Jeremy turned back to Michael.

“Wait- did you just hang up on him?” Michael covered his mouth to hold back as he laughed.

“Yes, he wouldn't shut up if I didn't, now coffee?

“Yeah, in the kitchen,” Michael started walking to the kitchen with Jeremy following him, “If I hung up on Nicole, she'd hang me.”

“Well, Rich is probably going to call me back in a minute and begin yelling at me about how rude it was that I hung up on him,” Jeremy sighed.

“Oh, so I get to hear your wonderful ringtone again?” Michael snickered, starting to make coffee.

“Shut up, Rich practically forced me to set it to that when he found out I was bi,” Jeremy muttered.

“Oh my god, so it's a pun? That's even worse.” Michael was now holding his stomach as he laughed.

Jeremy sighed, annoyed, “Like I said, he basically forced me to do it. I would've never set it to that if he wasn’t threatening to beat me into the ground. He may be short, but he's fucking strong. I learned that in high school. Never tease him about his height.”

Michael nodded, “Noted.” He took the finished pot of coffee and poured out two mugs, passing one to Jeremy. Jeremy took it, sipping on the hot coffee. Michael, in contrast, downed his coffee in a few quick gulps. “Alright.” He set down the empty mug.

“That was fast,” Jeremy said, a bit impressed.

“I needed the caffeine,” Michael shrugged.

“Well, I like to savor my coffee,” Jeremy took another small sip of his drink.

Michael fake coughed and muttered, “Weak.” Jeremy looked at him, thoroughly unamused.

“I’m not weak! I could probably chug it if I wanted to!” He protested.

“Sure you could,” Michael said, not believing him, “it's still steaming.”

“I could still probably do it.”

“Mhm.”

“Fucking watch me.” Jeremy lifted the cup to his lips and began drinking the coffee, not stopping until he had downed the whole mug. He slammed the mug down on the counter, his face a bit reddened. “Now my throat burns…”

“That was just stupid,” Michael informed him.

“I know, but you were practically challenging me to do it without directly saying it, I wanted to prove you wrong.”

Michael laughed, “Okay, maybe I was,” he admitted, “but you didn't have to do it.”

“I did it anyway because I'm not weak,” Jeremy crossed his arms.

“Does your throat still burn?”

“Yes.”

“Weak.”

“Fuck you,” Jeremy mumbled. He heard his phone going off again, “Must be Rich,” he sighed, pulling out his phone and answering the call.

 _“Did you_ fucking _hang up on me?”_ Jeremy had to pull the phone away from his face. 

Michael started laughing, shouting, “Hi Rich!”

There was a pause from Rich. _“Jeremy, who was that?”_

Michael smirked, “I'll let you explain.”

Jeremy sighed, “I hate you,” he muttered before answering Rich’s question. “That was my boyfriend-”

_“-oH MY GOD, HELLO!”_

“Hi!” Michael laughed.

_“WHAT’S YOUR NAME?! HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN JEREMY?! ARE YOU TREATING HIM WELL?! IF NOT I’LL KILL YOU!”_

“Okay, um, MY NAME’S MICHAEL, WE’VE WORKED TOGETHER FOR AWHILE, AND YOU’D REALLY HAVE TO ASK HIM.”

_“HOW OLD ARE YOU?! WHAT JOB DO YOU HAVE?! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HAD SEX?! I CAN GIVE YOU SOME VALUABLE INFORMATION IF YOU’D LIKE!”_

Michael took a moment, readying all of his answers, “TWENTY-NINE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY… IN MY ENTIRE LIFE? I’VE LOST COUNT, AND LIKE WHAT?”

_”I’LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT HIS SEXUAL PREFERENCES, HE TELLS ME EVERYTHING!”_

Michael smirked at Jeremy, “OH REALLY? DO TELL!”

 _“WELL HE HAS A THING FOR PRAISE, BUT WOULDN’T MIND IF YOU MIXED IN A BIT OF DIRTY TALK. HE LIKES IT ROUGH, DON’T GO EASY ON HIM- UNLESS HE ASKS FOR IT. HE’S UP TO TRYING MOST THINGS THAT AREN’T TOO EXTREME. OH, AND ALSO TRY WEARING CAT EARS ‘COS HE’S A FU-”_ Jeremy swiftly hit the end call button, his face totally red.

“He likes to joke that I'm a furry.”

Michael raised his eyebrows, “Cat ears?” He quietly stored away everything else Rich had said.

“I told him once when we were really drunk that people look, like, two times more attractive with cat ears and a tail, and that if I were a furry, my fursona would be a dolphin. He's made of me for it ever since.”

“Cat ears and a tail? Can't you get that shit at like… Hot Topic?” He was half considering it. Then he caught onto something else Jeremy said, “... Wait, why a dolphin?”

“Well they masturbate a lot don't they?” Jeremy snickered.

Michael choked on the air, “Oh my god,” he managed.

“Drunk me is very creative,” Jeremy laughed.

“Jesus,” Michael was still caught between laughing and choking, “yeah, yeah you are.”

“What time is it now?” Jeremy asked.

“Ah,” Michael looked at his phone, “Almost eight-fifteen. We should get going.”

“Yeah, I guess we should.” Jeremy agreed.

Michael grabbed his keys from one of the counters, heading towards the door with Jeremy in tow. Jeremy suddenly remembered something.

“Oh fuck, those hickeys are still visible, aren't they?” His face reddened.

Michael turned around and smirked, “Yep, they are,” he traced his fingers over the hickeys. Jeremy shivered slightly at the touch.

“Goddammit,” he sighed.

“Do you have a case or anything important today? Meeting anybody?” Michael laughed.

“I have a meeting with my boss about the next case I'm assigned to,” he muttered.

“Mm, that's tragic.” Michael said in faux concern.

“You're an asshole.”

“I know.”


	10. cos the film runs a shallow budget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting Nicole & (Horny) Drunken Idiot(s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up a lot longer than the others, there wasn't really a good place to stop ????
> 
> so it's 3.5k words lmao

>> **you** : How’d your meeting go?

>> **Jeremy** : It went well I suppose

>> **you** : aw, no comments on the hickey situation?  
>I'm almost disappointed

>> **Jeremy** : Well they definitely noticed

>> **you** : they'd have to be blind not to

Michael flipped over to Nicole.

>> **you** : would you possibly  
>maybe  
>want to meet Jeremy?

>> **nic-tac** : Y E S

He chuckled, switching back to Jeremy.

>> **you** : you up to maybe want to meet up with Nicole sometime for drinks?  
>she's very eager

>> **Jeremy** : Sure  
>When and where?

He sent Jeremy the address to the bar Nicole wanted to meet at and switched back to Nicole;

>> **you** : When?

>> **nic-tac** : A S S O O N A S P O S S I B L E

So naturally he translated this to;

>> **you** : Whenever you're free

>> **Jeremy** : I can do after work today?

>> **you** : Okay, see you then.

* * *

Michael luckily arrived before Jeremy, giving him some time to talk to Nicole.

“Michael!” Nicole shouted from across the bar, waving him down. He walked over.

“Hey, so like, I need you to not scare this one away?” He said a bit sheepishly.

“Aw, but I'm so good at it,” she fake whined.

“Well I actually kind of really like him so don't,” he sighed. He didn't like admitting it, but he hoped doing so would tip Nicole off to chill out a bit.

Jeremy arrived a few minutes later, spotting Michael and walking over. “Hey!”

“Hey!” Michael smiled a bit nervously, “Jeremy, this is Nicole. Nicole, this is Jeremy. My, uh… boyfriend.”

Nicole gave Jeremy an obvious once over, judging him thoroughly with one sweeping glance. “So, you're the one I've been hearing about?”

“Um, yes,” Jeremy stuck out his hand to shake. Nicole looked at his hand almost suspiciously before taking it and shaking it firmly.

“It's nice to meet you,” she took advantage of the tight grip she had on him to pull him close and whisper into his ear, “If you hurt him, so help me God, I will reach down your throat and pull out your goddamn small intestine-”

“Uh, Nicole,” Michael pulled her away with a tight smile, “don't,” he mouthed.

Jeremy blinked, a bit intimidated, but he tried to brush off the threat with a smile, “Okay then, I won't.” Nicole gave Jeremy one last look. She was smiling but her eyes said murder. Jeremy's smile turned into more of a nervous grin.

Michael desperately pulled on Nicole's arm, trying to get her to stop, “Hey, let's order drinks!” He suggested in an attempt to change the subject.

“Yeah, we should order drinks,” Jeremy nodded, grabbing onto the life line Michael was trying to provide. Nicole was temporarily distracted as she ordered her drink. Michael orders his, praying a few drinks would loosen Nicole up and make her less… well, murderous.

“Is she always this seemingly homicidal?” Jeremy mumbled to Michael.

“Yes,” Michael answered without even needing to think about, “it's like, ninety percent of her personality.”

“Jesus Christ, I wouldn't be surprised if she's already killed someone…”

“Me neither,” Michael replied honestly as their drinks arrived.

Nicole took a sip of hers, looking again at Jeremy, “So you're a prosecutor?”

“Yes,” Jeremy replied, drinking a bit from his beverage.

“Isn't that kind of,” Nicole swirled her drink- some kind of hard whiskey, “what's the phrase? Conflict of interest?”

“Eh, I suppose it is,” Jeremy shrugged.

“Shit, yeah,” Michael agreed as he took a sip from his drink- some fancy cocktail he'd already forgotten the name of, “we should probably mention to one of our bosses that we're dating because the amount of legal issues that could start if we were assigned to the same case-” he made a blowing up motion with his hands.

“Yeah,” Jeremy nodded, “I could probably tell my boss, they're pretty chill I guess. I mean, everything got a bit awkward after this one time I accidentally left a porn video on my laptop one night and opened it the next day at a meeting with them right beside me to see the video.”

Michael spat out his drink from laughing, “Oh my god, and yet you still have a job? God.”

“I'm surprised I wasn't fired too,” Jeremy chuckled, his face red.

“You… what…” Nicole said, looking confused.

“Do I need to repeat myself…?” Jeremy asked sheepishly, not really wanting to have to repeat it.

“No, no,” Nicole shook her head.

“And,” Michael added, “they definitely saw your hickeys.” This caused Nicole to look sharply at Jeremy’s neck, though she looked less like she was looking at his hickeys and more like she was plotting the best place to stab there.

“Yeah, you did a pretty good job marking me up,” Jeremy sighed, trying to ignore Nicole’s eyes.

“I try,” Michael smirked.

“Gross,” Nicole groaned, “stop flirting in front of me.” She looked away, taking a big swig of her drink. She glanced again at Jeremy's neck, this time actually looking at the hickeys before whispering, “Damn, you really messed him up.”

Jeremy heard this and blushed, “Do I really look that wrecked?”

Nicole snorted, “Well it looks like you guys had fun, to say the least.”

“Mm, yeah,” Jeremy muttered in reply, taking a sip from his drink with a quickly reddening face. 

Michael bit his lip to keep from making a comment about it, instead, he drank a bit and simply said, “Yep.”

Nicole look at him, a bit tipsy now. What little filter she already had was gone now. “You really like this one don't you?” She stared at him pretty intensely. Michael looked away, not replying.

Jeremy must not have heard, finishing his drink and waving down the bartender to order another. “I apologize in advance if I happen to get drunk tonight.”

“Oh God,” Michael muttered, remembering the last time Jeremy had gotten drunk. He decided he would have to be the adult here and stopped drinking after he finished his first drink.

“What's he like drunk?” Nicole asked, nudging him.

“Uh, horny for one, and overall kind of a handful,” Michael summarized. Nicole looked at Jeremy, judging him again.

“Yeah, I can see it.”

“So tell me about yourself,” Jeremy said to Nicole, swiftly changing the subject. His second drink arrived and he took a sip.

“Well I'm a dance instructor,” she started, “single lesbian, so if you know any hot girls-” Michael whacked her arm, “-hey!” She laughed, “if you've got a boyfriend now I gotta catch up!” She ordered herself another drink, “I've been told I'm scary,” she shrugged, “wouldn't know why.”

“Well I wouldn't exactly disagree with them,” Jeremy mumbled. Nicole looked at him sharply. Michael put a hand on her shoulder.

“Nic, please,” he mumbled.

“Why do you think I'm gonna scare him away?”

“Because when I introduced you to my last boyfriend, you talked _in detail_ about how you would eviscerate him and leave no evidence-”

“Only if he hurt you!”

“-and I left that conversation single again. So please.”

“Michael, I'm not going to leave you no matter what she says. She's being an overprotective friend, she just really cares about you. I've been in her position before.” Jeremy said. Michael looked at him with some disbelief- he was sure there was _something_ Nicole could do or say to drive him away.

He looked to Nicole, “Just wait until you have a girlfriend to introduce to me,” he muttered.

Nicole looked at Jeremy with a slightly softened expression. “You're alright,” she nodded, “I approve.”

“Thank you,” Jeremy smiled.

“So now that in past the whole ‘trying to scare you’ thing, how about some embarrassing stories?” Nicole waggled her eyebrows.

“I have dirt on you too!” Michael protested, but Nicole shushed him.

“He's not dating _me_ , now is he?” She smirked, turning to Jeremy. “Gimme a grade level and I'll tell you something embarrassing Michael did that year.”

“Hm, ninth grade,” Jeremy said after a moment of thought.

“Oh, freshman year, perfect,” Nicole said, “so freshman year was when Michael finally came out, but kind of by accident. One of the cutest girls in the school had been flirting with him for like a solid week, right? And she goes to kiss him, and he just screams ‘I’M GAY.’ We were at a party.”

“Pffft-” Jeremy began to laugh, covering his mouth in an attempt to muffle it.

“I was nervous!” Michael tried to defend himself.

“Yes, I too out myself when nervous,” Nicole was laughing. “Okay, okay, also freshman year, early in the year when we were still getting lost in the new school, he accidentally went into the girls’ bathroom. And somehow, he didn't notice until he was leaving the stall that he was, in fact, in the wrong bathroom. He tried to leave whenever the bathroom was empty, but girls kept coming and going and there was no easy way out. So he texts me, freaking out, and I had to rescue him from the girls’ bathroom.”

“Oh my God, that must've been embarrassing,” Jeremy couldn't hold back the laughs now.

“It was horrifying,” Michael muttered.

“Okay, give me another grade,” Nicole said with a smile. She was clearly enjoying herself.

“Sixth grade.”

“Oh!” Nicole's eyes lit up, “sixth grade was when we tried to date, remember?” She nudged Michael, who nodded. “Oh my God, he tried to do all the boyfriend-girlfriend stuff, it was adorable. We kissed once and were both disgusted and immediately broke up.”

“You're technically my first kiss and my first ex,” Michael chuckled at the memory.

“Well, kids don't really have much experience in sixth grade,” Jeremy said, laughing, “I didn't have any. Nobody wanted to even go near me. I was an absolute mess throughout middle school and most of high school.” By now, his laughter had died down a bit and it seemed less genuine. “But hey, look at me now, I'm a fucking lawyer!” Michael looked at him with some concern, unsure of what to say.

“Hell yeah! You could sue them now!” Nicole laughed, a bit beyond tipsy.

“Pfft, yeah,” Jeremy smiled a bit before taking another sip from his drink. Michael looked between the two of them.

“I'm cutting you both off after you finish these drinks.” 

“What? You can't do that!” Jeremy protested.

“Yeah!” Nicole agreed.

“I can and I will and I am,” Michael said sternly.

“I can make my own decisions, thank you very much,” Jeremy grumbled.

“Can you?” Michael asked teasingly, “I know you can't,” he said to Nicole before she could protest again.

“Yes, I will be responsible for my actions. I don't need you to tell me what to do,” Jeremy sighed.

“Just remember what happened last time you were drunk,” Michael reminded him.

“Oh, right,” Jeremy felt his face heating up.

“Didn't he like,” Nicole began to speak, slurring, “confess his love of something?” She giggled.

“Yeah,” Jeremy finished off the last of his drink.

“Yes, so maybe,” Michael pushed the empty glass away from Jeremy, “stop.”

“Fuck yyyyyou,” Jeremy replied, the two words slurring together.

“Maybe when you're sober,” Michael said. The barkeeper came over and Michael frantically made an X motion with his hands. They seemed to understand and walked away.

Jeremy crossed his arms, “I hate you.”

“No you don't,” Michael sighed.

“Fuck, you're right,” he mumbled.

“I know,” Michael smirked at Jeremy.

“Groooss,” Nicole whined.

“You haven't even seen gross yet,” Jeremy replied to Nicole’s comment, snickering.

Michael rolled his eyes, “And she's not going to,” he said on a very parent-scolding-child tone of voice.

“Fine, she doesn't have to see.”

Michael rolled his eyes again while Nicole mumbled, “You guys are fuckin’ disgusting,” into her last sip of her drink.

“I know,” Jeremy said in response with a small smile.

Michael looked them both over, “How did I become the designated driver here?”

Jeremy shrugged, “You just… did.”

“Next time, I'm getting drunk and y'all can deal with me,” he said with finality.

“Fine, but I'm not staying sober for you, Nicole can do that,” Jeremy replied.

“Hell no,” Nicole stated, “I've spent way too much time taking care of this one drunk,” she motioned to Michael, “he's _your_ problem now.”

“But he's your best frieeennnd,” Jeremy whined, “you should take care of hiiim.”

“Yah and he's your boooooooyyfrieeeend,” Nicole mocked, “so he's your problem.”

“He's not my problem, he's our problem, so you better fuckin’ help me.”

“I'm right here,” Michael said, but was promptly ignored.

“Gross, don't make it sound like we're some old married couple possibly going through divorce,” Nicole scrunched up her nose.

“We’re not a couple, who would even think that?” Jeremy crossed his arms.

“I dunno, but the way you talked about him being _our_ problem made it sound like we were a married couple dealing with our kid,” she gestured to Michael, “maybe someone could get that impression.”

“But we're not. Besides, why would an old married couple bring their kid to a bad?”

Nicole seemed to think about this for a moment, “Couldn't get a babysitter? Fuck, I don't know.”

“But… isn't it like… illegal for a person under twenty-one to be in a bar in the first place?” Jeremy asked, “If he were our child and we took him here, he'd probably have to wait outside. But, he's not. He's my boyfriend and your best friend, so we should work together to take care of him when he's drunk while not being considered a couple because we're not.”

“You're both thinking about this way too much,” Michael groaned, “I'm not your kid, it's fine.”

“Good, I prefer having you as my boyfriend. Wouldn't want our relationship to be incest,” Jeremy said. Michael sighed, putting his face into his hands.

“I'm glad I cut you off.”

“I'm not,” Jeremy huffed.

“Sucks to suck, bud,” Michael said, leaning back a bit, “I’m in charge.”

“Who put you in charge, asshole?” Jeremy whined.

“You, when you decided to get drunk.” Michael said.

“‘Cha know he has his ears pierced,” Nicole slurred, “though he was soooo cooool,” but she was ignored.

“I never said you were in charge. You made yourself in charge. Honestly, I don't think you're capable of being in charge,” Jeremy huffed.

“I made myself in charge because you're both dru- Nicole, please stop poking my ear, I know- you're both drunk.”

“I can be drunk and in charge! Just watch me,” Jeremy stood up, stumbling and holding onto his chair once he got up.

“Whoa there,” Michael got up, too, holding Jeremy by the arm, “sit back drunk, you're too drunk.”

“Fine,” Jeremy obliged with a smirk, sitting down and pulling Michael with him so Michael landed in his lap.

“You're awful,” Michael flushed, but didn't get up.

“Disgusting,” Nicole said.

“Fuck you, Nicole,” Jeremy muttered before pulling Michael into a kiss. Michael had enough presence of mind to pull away quickly and get up off Jeremy’s lap.

“Absolutely fuckin’ disgusting,” Nicole repeated.

“Why'd you leeeave?” Jeremy whined, this time ignoring Nicole.

“Because kissing you right now tastes like alcohol,” Michael huffed. Behind him, Nicole made a gagging motion.

“But alcohol tastes good,” Jeremy replied, wanting Michael to come back over.

Michael scrunched up his nose, “I'm not a fan of beer.”

“Mm, I see. What do you like?” Jeremy asked.

Michael narrowed his eyes, “You're not allowed to get any more alcohol,” he reminded him, “but I prefer cocktails.”

“Okay,” Jeremy nodded.

“Mikey likes giiiiiiiiirly drinks,” Nicole giggled, poking his ears again.

“Stop that,” he told her again, gently smacking her arm.

“Wait- Mikey?” Jeremy giggled.

“Please don't call me that,” Michael said, though his plea fell on deaf ears.

“Yep, Mikey,” Nicole poked his cheek instead, “a nickname from like, first grade.”

“Well, my mom used to call me Jer-bear, so I don't think Mikey is all that bad.”

“Jer-bear?” Michael chuckled, “I’m definitely calling you that now.”

“Nooo, dooon’t,” Jeremy groaned, frowning.

“Too late, I’m calling you Jer-bear now.”

“You're a dick,” Jeremy mumbled, slumping in his seat.

“Yeah,” Michael shrugged. Jeremy probably wouldn't remember this anyway.

“Are you sure I can't get another drink?” He asked.

“Nope,” Michael shook his head, “you're done for the night.” Jeremy let out a noise of disappointment, placing his arm on the counter next to him and resting his head on it. Michael chuckled, “Truly a tragic scene,” Nicole nodded sagely.

“Wait a second you don't control me. I'm ordering another drink,” Nicole said suddenly, waving down the barkeeper. Jeremy gasped.

“You don't control me either!” He joined Nicole in ordering another drink. Michael groaned, putting his head down on the bar top. He mentally cursed Nicole for this sudden realization.

“Whatever, I'm just dropping you off at your house and leave. I'm not dealing with you tonight.”

“Fine,” Jeremy sighed.

“Ooh, would you stay at my house?” Nicole smiled sweetly.

“No,” Michael said firmly, “I’m not dealing with any drunk idiots tonight.”

“Besides, I think he'd rather be with me if we were drunk.” Jeremy pointed out. Michael shrugged, not disagreeing.

Nicole gasped, “I'm hurt! You wound me! We haven't had a sleepover since like twelfth grade, c’moooooon Mikey,” she tugged on his sleeve.

“Maybe some other time when you're not drunk,” Michael sighed.

Jeremy snickered, “So are you sure you don't want to stay with me, Mikey?”

“I'm sure, Jer-bear,” Michael shot back, “I'm not dealing with either of you tonight.” He said this with conviction, although he knew if Jeremy really asked him to stay, he would.

“How can I convince you to stay?” Jeremy asked quietly, placing one hand high on Michael's thigh. Michael shivered a bit, but quickly moved Jeremy’s hand off of him.

“Not like that. You're drunk.”

“Ohh, please Mikey? You don't have to kiss me, I just want to make you feel good,” Jeremy begged, his voice filled with desperation.

“Not when you're drunk, nope,” Michael said, making a point of scooting his chair away slightly. Nicole was blessedly distracted by a cute girl across the bar.

“But Mikey, I want you so bad,” Jeremy whimpered before leaning over and kissing Michael's neck. Michael scrambled to push him away.

“No, you're just a horny drunk.”

Jeremy whined but didn't say anything more. He took the drink he'd ordered and took one sip before- “Hey, barkeep! What kinda shit are you tryna pull?” He held up his cup, which was water. He slid the glass across the bar, only to have the bartender push it back to him.

“You should really drink this.”

“Ha!” Michael chuckled, “Maybe I can't control you but the barkeep can!” He but back a successful smirk.

“Fuck you, the barkeep knows best when it comes to drinking,” Jeremy replied.

“Yeah, and you're not gonna try and seduce the barkeep into letting you drink more.” Michael snorted.

“I probably could,” Jeremy mumbled. Michael frowned, but didn't say anything. Nicole stumbled over with her arm around the girl.

“I'm heading home with Allie here, don't wait up,” she winked as she went off.

Michael laughed once she was out of earshot, “It's not really like her to do that sorta thing. Must be desperate,” he rolled his eyes, though he was smiling affectionately.

“Well, she got lucky.” Jeremy smiled a bit.

“Yeah,” Michael glanced at the time, “we should probably get going soon.”

“I guess,” Jeremy said, taking a pretty big gulp of water.

“You alright? Starting to feel a bit sober?” He teased.

“Eh, a little, but mostly still horny as fuck and I'm doing everything I can to stop myself from dropping down to my knees and sucking your dick.” Jeremy said bluntly, his face tinted slightly pink. Michael flushed, suddenly having to cross his legs.

“As appealing as that sounds, we’re still in public and you're still drunk.”

Jeremy noticed the way Michael crossed his legs and smirked, “What's the matter? What're you trying to hide?”

“Nothing.” He said a bit too quickly.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, “Really? If it's nothing then why are you hiding it?”

“Fuck off,” Michael said through gritted teeth, “you know damn well what I'm trying to hide.”

“Hm,” Jeremy hummed, “no, I don't. Why don't you show me?”

Michael glared at him, “No.”

“Hey, I have a boner too, and I'm not trying to hide it,” Jeremy shrugged.

“Yeah, some of us have a sense of public decency.” Michael shot back, not uncrossing his legs.

“Hm,” Jeremy finished his water, setting the glass down, “well you still have to take me home, so you're going to have to uncross your legs eventually.”

“I will when we leave,” Michael said stiffly.

“When are we going to leave?” Jeremy asked.

“Whenever you're ready, I guess,” Michael shrugged.

“I'm ready now,” Jeremy said, sliding out of his chair.

“Alright…” Michael stood, trying to adjust his clothes in such a way to cover his boner. “Let's go.”


	11. and the writer's subject script isn't any deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Babysitting & Hungover & •Dear Jesus, We Are Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the nsfw of this chapter was literally 'well fuck it if ur gonna write it imma do it' and  
> well _I'm_ kind of sorry
> 
>  
> 
> ~~  
> _my rp partner is not bc she's a damn sinner_  
>  ~~

Michael ended up staying at Jeremy’s place after running back to his own place for a bit, despite saying he wasn't going to deal with any drunk idiots tonight.

“Jeremy?” He walked in, spotting Jeremy on the couch. He was sprawled out, to be more exact, with a glass of water next to him.

“Hey,” Jeremy greeted.

“How're you feeling?” Michael asked, relieved to see the water was half drunk.

“Less drunk,” Jeremy shrugged.

“That's good,” Michael looked him over. He still looked like a drunken mess.

“What're you looking at?” Jeremy asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“A drunk idiot.” Michael said bluntly, “You still look like a mess.” He could tell Jeremy had been trying to flirt, but he'd be lying if he said anything else.

“Hm,” Jeremy’s smirk fell.

“You should probably get some rest,” Michael suggested, trying not to think about what happened the last time he'd tucked a drunken Jeremy into bed.

“I don't feel like sleeping,” Jeremy said, crossing his arms and leaning back to stare up at the ceiling.

“You're like a child,” Michael sighed, “so you'd rather just… stare at the ceiling all night?”

“Well I was considering masturbation before you arrive,” Jeremy said shamelessly.

Michael snorted, “Scratch that, you're like a horny teenager.”

“Well yeah, my libido hasn't really changed much from what it was when I was seventeen,” Jeremy shrugged.

“I'll keep that in mind,” Michael said with a smirk. Jeremy’s face started to turn just slightly red. Michael chuckled. “But really, even if you don't want you, you probably need to get some rest.”

“I'll be fine.”

“You're gonna have a killer hangover,” Michael pointed out.

“I'm going to have a killer hangover whether I sleep or not,” Jeremy retorted.

“True,” Michael relented. He really just didn't want to stay up babysitting anymore than he had to. “But it might be helpful if you sleep.”

“It might be. Doesn't mean it will be.”

Michael sighed in frustration. He was fighting a losing battle here. “So what would you rather do?”

“I dunno,” Jeremy muttered.

“We could watch a movie?” Michael suggested, feeling very much like he was dealing with a petulant child.

“Sure,” Jeremy replied with a slight smile.

“Anything specific in mind? I have Netflix,” Michael asked as he set it up, scrolling through the options.

“Sci-fi?” Jeremy suggested. Michael scrolled down to the sci-fi category.

“Sharknado?” He suggested sarcastically.

“Yeah, no,” Jeremy said with a small laugh.

“I bet that would be interesting to watch while high,” Michael said, more to himself than to Jeremy, continuing down the line of movies.

“Probably.”

Michael looked at him oddly, “Have you ever been high?”

“Once,” Jeremy replied.

“Huh,” that wasn't the answer he'd been expecting, “not as straight-laced as you might seem.”

“Hey, Rich wanted me to try it with him. Besides, I was only twenty-one, I didn't really know what I was doing.” He was silent for a moment before adding, “It was nice, though.”

“Yeah,” Michael nodded, “I, uh, kinda used to be one of those pretentious stoner types,” he shrugged, remembering his late high school and early college years.

“Really?” Jeremy looked at him with an odd expression.

“Yeah, how about this movie?” He said quickly, wanting to change the topic quickly. Jeremy read over the summary.

“Sure.”

* * *

As the movie came to an end, Michael looked at Jeremy, “Feeling any more tired now?”

“Yeah, maybe a little,” Jeremy said, though he looked and sounded like he was going to pass out at any moment. Michael chuckled, standing up.

“Alright, let's get you to bed,” he reached down and scooped up Jeremy bridal style effortlessly. Jeremy blushed a bit, putting his arms around Michael’s neck as he was carried to his room.

“How can you carry me so easily?”

“I'm stronger than I look,” he huffed, laying Jeremy down on the bed.

“Or maybe it's because I'm as skinny as a pencil,” Jeremy replied, snickering.

“Both, probably,” Michael sighed. He glanced at the door, unsure if Jeremy wanted him to join him in the bed to sleep or if he should just take the couch again.

“You can join me, if you want,” Jeremy mumbled, giving Michael a tired half-smile. Michael smiled back, walking over to the other side and getting into the bed. He couldn't stop himself from running his hand through Jeremy’s hair as soon as he was close enough. Jeremy sighed contentedly, leaning into the touch and closing his eyes. Michael continued to play with his hair until he was sure Jeremy was asleep before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

* * *

Jeremy woke up the next morning with a headache, feeling slightly nauseous. He whimpered, pressing his face into the pillow. Michael was already slightly awake and chuckled, “Hungover?”

“Mmmmph,” was all Jeremy muttered in reply. Michael rolled out of the bed, kissing Jeremy once on the forehead before going to retrieve some aspirin and water for him. He came back after a moment and set a glass of water on the bedside table next to Jeremy along with the aspirin.

“Here,” he said before yawning.

“Thanks,” Jeremy sat up and picked up the glass of water and the aspirin. He took the aspirin, swallowing it with some of the water provided to him. Michael sat down on the bed next to him.

“I've already called in sick for you, there's no way you're going to work looking like that,” he gestured to Jeremy, still visibly extremely hungover.

“Shit, I had a meeting with a detective today,” Jeremy mumbled.

“You can do that tomorrow, you're in no shape to be having any important meetings today.” Michael checked his phone, chuckling at all the new texts from Nicole.

>> **nic-tac** : holy dfck  
>so I had a good night  
>lowkey did the walk of shame about an hour ago lmao  
>worth it tho  
>she was hot  
>I'm hungover af too  
>also worth it  
>arenyou still asleep????? weak

“Fine,” Jeremy sighed, laying back down in his bed and pulling the covers up to his shoulder, turning onto his side, “I’m going back to sleep.”

“Alright,” Michael laughed, “get some rest.” He stood, replying to his texts as he walked to the kitchen to make some coffee.

>> **you** : I’m awake you fuck  
>glad you had fun  
>I gotta go to work soon tho :P

>> **nic-tac** : work? ur a square

>> **you** : not everyone can have ~super fun~ jobs like you

>> **nic-tac** : that's fair

He chugged down the coffee as he usually did, and went to check on Jeremy once before he left. He's allowed to be worried about Jeremy, he reminded himself. They _are_ dating. He watched for a moment- _okay, so he's really cute when he's sleeping._ He left the room, closing the door as softly as possible and heading out to work.

* * *

Jeremy woke up hours later, feeling significantly better. He still had a lingering headache, but overall he was much better. He got up and walked to the kitchen to get some coffee. He glanced at his phone to see he had a text from Michael, which made sense since it was close to the end of the work day for him.

>> **mikey** : you okay?

>> **you** : yeah

>> **mikey** : good

Jeremy sat on his couch, taking out his laptop and scrolling through some work emails. _Eh, fuck it,_ he pushed his laptop off of his lap and moved it onto the table in front of him. He trailed one hand down to his boxers, palming himself as he started searching for some videos online. He scrolled through the videos while still pressing against himself, growing more and more aroused. He let out a quiet whimper.

After scrolling for a few minutes and finding nothing that interested him, he closed his laptop. He continued to palm himself, a bit more roughly now, letting his thoughts entertain him as he did so.

Jeremy slid his hand under his boxers, using his thumb to rub the tip of his cock. He moaned softly, imagining Michael doing this to him, being such a tease. He pulled his boxers down and began to stroke himself slowly, panting softly. He would occasionally stop at his tip to press his thumb against it, causing him to moan a bit louder.

“Michael,” he breathed out, speeding up slowly as the tip of his cock started to leak precum, “Oh, Michael-” Jeremy was breathing shakily as he continued to pump himself, moaning Michael's name again.

He could feel himself getting close, tears beginning to blur his vision. He soon came with a cry of pleasure, tears streaming down his cheeks as he did so. He was breathing heavily as he looked down at his hand, which was now covered in his own cum. He shrugged to himself, he'd have to go wash up in a minute.

Jeremy stood up, pulling his boxers back up before heading to the nearest sink. He washed off the cum, sighing quietly as he turned off the faucet and dried his hands. He headed back to his bedroom and flopped down on the bed, feeling tired once again.

* * *

Michael walked into his house after work, heading to the bathroom and stripping down to take a shower. He hopped in, the warm steam relaxing him. He wondered about Jeremy, if he was still okay, then his thoughts started to turn to thinking about fucking him. Eventually, he wrapped his hand around his cock, stroking slowly as he thought of the way Jeremy moaned.

He imagined Jeremy was there in the hot shower with him. He filed away the idea of shower sex for later, continuing a slow pace with his strokes, enjoying the building heat. He started to pick up speed, pumping himself more insistently. He leaned his head back, letting the water run over his body.

“Jeremy-” he moaned. He ran his thumb over his tip, sucking in a sharp breath at the sensation. With just a few more quick strokes, Michael came, moaning out Jeremy’s name again. He turned to face the water, letting it clean him off.

After another minute of just enjoying the warm water, he got out and dried off. He checked the time on his phone to see it was getting pretty late. So, he threw on something to sleep in and hopped into bed. He texted Jeremy quickly.

>> **you** : I’m going to bed, you still feeling okay?

>> **jer-bear** : yeah, I'm feeling better  
>thanks

>> **you** : alright  
>goodnight, jer-bear

>> **jer-bear** : goodnight mikey


	12. so dive right in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Migraine & Sleepover! & Meeting Rich

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if it feels like this chapter ended a bit abruptly, that's bc it does. I couldn't find a good place to stop and ended up cutting some of the end of this chapter and moving it to the beginning of next chapter. Whoops
> 
> Anyway the next couple of chapters are... rough (particularly on Michael, but it's pretty rough for Jeremy too)

Michael woke up to the sound of his alarm, which was unusual for him. He normally woke up at least a half hour before his alarm. He went to sit up to turn it off and- _oh, god, okay, nope-_ he laid back down, holding his now throbbing head. _Great_ , he thought, _a fuckin’ migraine. On a day I have a meeting at work. Fantastic._

He braced himself for the light and picked up his phone to suffer through the process of calling off. Immediately after he muted his phone and placed it face down on the dresser. He tried to curl up and go back to sleep, but he eventually had to accept that he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't get up and take something for the migraine.

He sighed, pushing himself up and out of the bed to wander into the bathroom and take some medicine. He groggily walked back to his bed, falling into it. He pulled his covers around himself and fell back asleep.

* * *

When Jeremy arrived at work, he made his way to his office. He frowned a bit when he didn't see Michael anywhere on his way, but he brushed it off. It was probably nothing.

His meeting with the detective was moved to today, so he wasn't surprised to see them waiting outside his office. He smiled and introduced himself before opening the door and letting them inside to discuss the case they were working on. The meeting lasted about an hour and once the detective left, he began filling out paperwork. He typed out everything he'd discussed with the detective on a document for future reference.

At the end of the day, Jeremy gathered up his things and left. He hadn't seen nor heard from Michael all day, and he was growing a bit worried. So, he texted Michael.

>> **you** : Hey are you not feeling well today?  
>I didn't see you at all at work today  
>I can come over if you'd like?

Jeremy heard a noise from his phone. _Maybe that was Michael!_ He quickly grabbed his phone and checked, only to see it was Nicole. He tried and failed to not be disappointed.

>> **Nicole** : did you kill michael

Jeremy assumed she had also tried to text Michael and gotten no reply. At least Michael wasn't ignoring him.

>> **you** : No, I haven't seen or heard from him all day

>> **Nicole** : yeah me neither  
>I'm going to check on him

>> **you** : Okay  
>keep me updated

>> **Nicole** : will do

* * *

“Michael?” Nicole shouted as she entered Michael’s house. He'd given her a key almost as soon as he'd moved in and she abused that privilege quite a bit. She received a distant groan in reply, so she followed the sound, finding Michael burrowed away in his blankets. “Jesus, Mikey, could've answered your phone…” she said, careful to be quiet now.

“Migraine,” was all he said. She nodded, texting Jeremy.

>> **you** : he's okay  
>got a migraine  
>probably had his phone muted bc of it

>> **mikey’s bf** : Oh okay  
>I'm glad he's alright  
>Does he need anything?

>> **you** : sleep?  
>silence?  
>idk he’ll probably be better tomorrow this happens sometimes

>> **mikey’s bf** : Alright

“No better time to have that sleepover,” Nicole said quietly, causing Michael to laugh a bit.

* * *

Jeremy had stayed up pretty late the night before doing some paperwork from home, so when his alarm went off he groggily reached over and slammed the snooze button on the alarm clock before settling back into his bed, practically burying himself in the covers as he attempted to fall back asleep.

However, about nine minutes later, his alarm went off again, and this time Jeremy reluctantly decided to get out of bed, which was unusually comfortable this morning. He turned off his alarm before heading to the kitchen to get some coffee and wake himself up. He checked his phone and noticed a few messages from Rich.

>> **3 ounces of whoop-ass** : hey fucko  
>I wanna meet ur new boy toy

>> **you** : Alright lemme text him  
>and he's not my ‘boy toy’

>> **3 ounces of whoop-ass** : yet you knew exactly who I was talking about

>> **you** : shhhhhhhh

He texted Michael;

>> **you** : Are you feeling better today?  
>cos Rich wants to meet you

>> **mikey** : Yeah  
>sure, if I can unwrap myself from Nicole  
>she's a friggin octopus and I value my life so I'm tryna not wake her

>> **you** : I also value your life  
>be careful

>> **mikey** : thanks  
>so when am I meeting rich?  
>anytime after work would be okay for me

He flipped back to Rich to clarify time.

>> **you** : What time?

>> **3 ounces of whoop-ass** : 6 pm at this park  
>we're gonna meet up with Jake and then go to dinner from there

And Rich sent an address, presumably to the park. He went back to Michael

>> **you** : he wants to meet at 6 pm here

He forwarded the address Rich had sent him.

>> **mikey** : sounds good  
>see you then

* * *

Michael walked out of work, double checking the address he'd been sent. He hopped into his car and drove to the place- a small park.

Jeremy was already there, talking to Rich, who looked super excited. “Rich, please don't say anything embarrassing,” Jeremy pleaded.

“I can't promisthe that.”

Michael could just barely hear the conversation, but he managed to spot them and walked over. “Hey,” he smiled warmly. He held out his hand for Rich to shake, “I’m Michael.”

Rich looked up at Michael and grinned, taking his hand and shaking it. “I'd hope you know my name by now,” he said before stepping back and examining Michael. He turned back to Jeremy and said, “You got pretty lucky, tall assth. I'm almost jealousth.”

Michael wasn't really sure how to respond to that, or to the way Rich was eyeing him, so he tried to shift the subject. “Jeremy hasn't really told me much about you, like what do you do for a living?”

“I'm a persthonal trainer at the local gym,” Rich said, shrugging.

Michael nodded, “That's cool. I actually need to get back into an exercise routine,” he said, making a mental note to himself. He looked at Rich, who despite being short like Jeremy had said, was pretty in shape. He reminded himself not to comment on Rich’s height.

“I actually managed to get sthick figure over here to put on some musthcle,” Rich said with pride, nudging Jeremy, “C’mon, Jer, tell your boyfriend how good of a trainer I am.”

“One time you sat on my fucking back and told me to do thirty push-ups,” Jeremy muttered. Michael snickered, but was quiet other than that.

“I wasth just playing around, you know that!”

Michael sputtered out a laugh, “Whatever works, I guess.” He looked at his own arms, mumbling, “I used to be a lot more in shape,” and shrugging.

“Well I think you look good right now,” Jeremy said with a small smile.

“Buuuuut,” Rich interjected to add, “you can alwaysth drop by if you'd like. I'm sthure we could get you stharted at the gym, and if you'd like persthonal training, choosthe me!”

“Oh, did you know Rich actually met his current boyfriend at the gym?” Jeremy asked with a sly smile, “I remember that day like it was yesterday. He sent me a text while I was at work saying, ‘holy shit there's this really cute guy at the gym and he's walking towards me help’- in all caps, mind you.” Jeremy chuckled as Rich’s face turned red.

“A natural reaction to seeing a cute guy,” Michael laughed, nodding a bit teasingly.

“And you were the one who said not to sthay anything embarassthing.” Rich muttered bitterly.

“I think he meant embarrassing things about him, not you,” Michael pointed out. Though, he was curious to hear some of Jeremy’s embarrassing stories.

Rich frowned, “Well if he’sth gonna sthay embarassthing thingsth about me, I shthould be able to do the sthame to him,” his frown turned to a smirk, “Isth there anything sthpecific that you'd like to know or shthould I justh sthay the firsth thing that comesth to mind?”

Michael thought about it for a moment before saying, “First thing that comes to mind.”

“Okay!” Rich thought for a moment, “So… a few yearsth ago, we were at thisth Christmasth party and Jeremy got really drunk- he wasth the only one drunk at the time. There wasth a karaoke machine and he decided to put on possthibly the worsth performance of All I Want for Christhmasth isth You I've ever stheen or heard. I'm pretty sthure I wasthn’t the only one who recorded it, causthe I saw another angle of it on YouTube oncthe. Musth’ve been Jenna. Anyway, I think I sthill have the video of it on my phone.

“I really hope you don’t…” Jeremy mumbled.

“I really hope you do,” Michael smiled deviously, leaning over a bit to look at Rich’s phone screen. Rich scrolled through his camera roll until he found the video he was looking for. Before he could hit play, though, Jeremy snatched the phone. Michael frowned as the phone was swiped so easily.

“I am not letting you do this to me,” Jeremy said, holding the phone above his head.

“Hey-” Michael used his height to take the phone back from Jeremy, passing it back to Rich and hitting play so they could both watch. Jeremy hid his face in his hands, hearing his drunken self singing away in the video.

Michael put a hand over his mouth, though it did nothing to stop the laughter spilling out. “This is amazing,” he said between laughs.

“I hate you both,” Jeremy muttered, his face still in his hands.

“Love you too,” Rich replied, still watching the video.

“No you doooooon’t,” Michael drawled, giving Jeremy a goofy grin as the video finished. With his ears and face totally red, Jeremy looked up from his hands to see Michael smiling at him and tried to fix him with the most annoyed look he could manage. Michael's smile only widened, “You're pretty cute when you're embarrassed.”

“Shut up,” Jeremy said, looking at the ground as he felt his face somehow getting warmer.

“Aw, Jeremy,” Michael laughed a bit quieter, using one hand to tilt Jeremy’s head back and kiss him on the nose- either disregarding or forgetting about Rich being there. Jeremy giggled softly, although he was still embarrassed. He closed his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips before-

“Okay, lovebirdsth, quit with the PDA.” Rich commented, chuckling. Jeremy pulled back from Michael slightly, his embarrassed expression returning.

Michael, in contrast, didn't seem all that embarrassed and even laughed. “That's nothing, this one tried to drunkenly make out with me in front of my friend.”

“Well I alwaysth knew he wasth the horny type,” Rich said, snickering.

“Yeah, I learned that,” Michael snorted.

“Well at least I'm not an angry drunk,” Jeremy retaliated, “you broke somebody's pool table at a high school party and started so many fights with people who did nothing to you.” Rich shrugged, relenting. Michael laughed, looking at Rich then back at Jeremy.

“Sounds like he’s fun at parties.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed sarcastically.

“Got any more blackmail on him?” Michael said to Rich, leaning over a bit, “That video was great.”

“I can probably find sthome,” Rich replied, smirking slightly. Jeremy looked at Rich with a face that said ’don't you fucking dare’ Michael looked over at Jeremy with faux innocence before turning back to look at Rich’s phone.

Rich browsed through his camera roll, looking for any embarrassing photos or videos of Jeremy and showing them all to Michael. Jeremy eventually gave up and started walking away.

“I'm done,” he announced.

Rich looked up from his phone, still laughing a little, “Jer, don't leave!”

“Jeeeeeremyyyy,” Michael whined, laughing a bit at the pictures and videos, “come back!”

“No, I'm leaving and there's nothing you could do to convince me to come back,” Jeremy continued on walking. Michael followed after him.

“Hey-” he grabbed Jeremy's arm, “come back, please?” He tried to smile as sweetly as possible. “I still like you even after seeing all those videos.”

Jeremy stood for a moment then sighed, “Fine.” They walked back over to Rich.

“I thought you sthaid there wasth no convincthing you,” Rich snickered.

“I have my ways,” Michael said with a smirk.

“You're both assholes, though,” Jeremy grumbled.

“That may be true, but you're still his friend and you're dating me,” Michael pointed out.

“Eh, true,” Jeremy couldn't disagree.

“You're kind of an asshole yourself, maybe that's why we work,” Michael shrugged.

“Maybe.”

Michael smiled at Jeremy, leaning down to kiss him. Jeremy kissed back, feeling a smile creeping up on his face. Michael pulled him closer, placing his hands on Jeremy’s hips. Jeremy's hands made their way to Michael’s back as he let out a happy hum into the kiss. Both of them had seemingly forgotten about Rich, who took out his phone and snapped a quick picture before pocketing his phone and giggling softly. Michael pulled away to breathe, opening his eyes just in time to see Rich putting his phone away.

“Did you just-” he tried to reach for Rich’s phone, but was too late.

“Did I just what?” Rich asked innocently.

“Did you just take a picture of us?” Michael asked.

“No.”

Michael frowned. “Okay, then show me your photos.”

“Sthorry, dude, my phone’sth already in my pocket and I'm not immediately taking it back out again.” Rich shrugged.

Michael narrowed his eyes, “So you did take a picture.”

“That’sth not what I sthaid.”

Michael crossed his arms, fixing Rich with his best lawyer-stare. “Then why won't you show your phone?”

Rich tried to seem unfazed by the glare Michael was giving him, although it clearly made him nervous. “I told you, I justh put it in my pocket and I don't want to take it out again becausthe, well, what’sth the point? Besthidesth, you’re asthking to see a photo that doesth’nt even existh. What would you do with that information anyway?” Before Michael could answer, Rich continued, “Wouldyou want me to like, sthend it to you or sthomething? What would you even do with that picture, print it out and put it on your wall? You fucking weirdo.” Michael had gone dead silent, the sting of his words feeling all too familiar.

“Rich, what the fuck?” Jeremy interjected.

“Aren't you going to help me?” Rich asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Help you with what?”

“Help me defend mysthelf! He’sth giving me that lawyer sthare you keep talking about!” He gestured to Michael, who was currently giving no such look. “He obviousthly doesth’nt trusth me, and I don't if I can trusth him either.” Rich crossed his arms. “Tell me, do I stheem like sthomeone who would take a picture of you two kissthing without your permissthion?”

“Actually, yeah, you do.” Jeremy said.

“Well, I didn't. Are you happy? Isth my explanation enough for you?” He turned back to Michael, who was still standing silently and stock-still.

“Yeah,” he said, sounding extremely deflated, “whatever.”

Rich’s expression quickly shifted from that of slight annoyance to guilt as he noticed how quiet Michael suddenly was and how he sounded when he spoke. “I-I’m sthorry, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything, I justh-”

“It's fine.” Michael said, a bit too quickly for it to be totally true.

“No, it’sth not. I know that expressthion too well, I musth’ve said something that hurt you and I really am sthorry.”

Michael sighed, shrugging. “It's silly, don't worry about it.”

“That’sth bullsthit and you know it,” Rich couldn't help his worry; he didn't want to fall back into his pattern of hurting people like he'd done in high school.

Michael flinched a bit. “Seriously, it's fine,” he said, a bit more insistently, silently begging Rich to drop it.

Rich was silent for a moment before asking, “Can you at leasth tell me what it wasth I sthaid stho I don't fuck up again?”

“‘Fucking weirdo,’” Michael repeated Rich’s words with air quotes, trying to downplay how much the words had hit him, though he couldn't make eye contact.

“Oh. Okay. Again, I apologize,” Rich averted his eyes, looking at the ground.

“Like I said, it's really fine,” Michael frowned, wishing Jeremy would jump in and change the subject or something. Luckily, Jeremy must've picked up on this.

“So you said we’re meeting up with Jake too, right?” Jeremy asked Rich, who turned to him with a slight smile.

“Yeah, he sthould be arriving any minute now.”

“And Jake is…?” Michael liked between the two of them, waiting for an answer.

“My boyfriend,” Rich filled in.

“Ah,” Michael nodded, then something clicked, “wait is this some kind of double date?”

“I guessth it kind of isth,” Rich shrugged. He looked behind Michael to see Jake approaching them and he grinned.


	13. hollywood hills and suburban thrills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting Jake & Bet & Take Care Of Yourself & [Insert Obligatory Michael In the Bathroom Reference Here] (Alternatively Titled; They Might Have Passed A Very Pleasent Evening Had Shit Not Gotten Real)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooooooooo here comes the angst train motherfuckers
> 
> ready or not lmao
> 
> also the best summary for the last chunk of this is this troubled bird https://me.me/i/they-might-have-passed-a-very-pleasant-evening-had-shit-13152686
> 
> this is also another chapter I cut a bit off of and pasted it to the next chapter

“Jakey D!” He ran over to his boyfriend and hugged him, letting himself get slightly picked up by Jake, who was laughing a bit at Rich’s excitement.

“Hey, babe,” Jake said.

“The height difference is insane,” Michael mumbled to Jeremy, who nodded. While Rich was below average short, Jake was above average tall, which made quite the difference between them.

“Yeah.”

Rich giggled, kissing Jake’s cheek, “Hey.” Jake smiled, blushing just a tiny bit before setting his boyfriend back down on the ground.

“So, we’re meeting Jeremy’s new boyfriend?” Jake nodded in the direction of Jeremy and Michael before waving. Jeremy waved back.

“Yeah, he's pretty nice.” Rich smiled.

“Alright,” Jake said before walking over to Jeremy and Michael. “Hey,” he held out his hand to shake with Michael, who took it, “I’m Jake.”

“Michael,” he nodded, “Nice to meet you.”

“So, Michael,” Jake said before launching into the some of the same questions Rich had asked- minus the more risqué ones. Michael dutifully answered each other. Jake nodded, “Okay, he seems like a good guy,” he said to Jeremy, “not, like, a murderer or anything.”

“Why… why would he be? Why is that your criteria here?” Jeremy asked.

Jake blinked, having to think about that. “I've been watching too much TV,” he concluded.

Jeremy snickered. “I see.”

“Can't trust anyone on those crime shows,” Jake shook his head thoughtfully.

“You do realize those are fake?” Jeremy asked slowly.

“Yeah, okay, but still.”

Michael chuckled. “Well, I promise I'm not a murderer,” he held up his hands in a show of innocence.

“Good, I don't want to get killed in my sleep,” Jeremy responded.

“Still a possibility. And I'd have a good lawyer,” Michael chuckled.

“Hm. I hope the prosecutor would be better.”

Michael glared a bit, “Pfff, yeah, anyone would be better than you,” he stuck his tongue out, clearly teasing.

“Really?” Jeremy put a hand on his hip, knowing Michael was just being an ass. He stuck his own tongue out, mimicking Michael.

“Yep,” Michael smirked, looking at Jeremy before leaning down and kissing him. Jeremy let out a small squeak as he wasn't expecting it, but kissed back.

Behind them, Jake coughed and elbowed Rich. Rich snorted, “Can you two keep off of each other for more than ten minutesth?”

Michael jumped a bit, pulling away from Jeremy quickly. Jeremy was blushing, kind of missing Michael’s lips on his- though he’d never tell him that. “Yeah, we could,” Michael scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed.

Rich snickered, “I’d like to sthee you try.”

Michael narrowed his eyes, sensing a challenge. “Bet.”

“Alright,” Rich smirked slightly.

Michael frowned, maybe not totally expecting Rich to agree. “Okay, ten minutes. What're we betting?”

“Um… sthincthe I'm taking you all to a restaurant for dinner tonight, I'll pay if you manage to make it ten minutesth,” he purposely didn't add that he'd been planning on paying anyway, “but if you don’t, one of you two will.”

Michael nodded. “Alright, set a timer.” Jake held up his phone, displaying a timer with ten minutes added to it.

“Already there,” he said, hitting start.

Rich grinned a bit insincerely at Michael, “Good luck, you just might need it.”

Michael crossed his arms tightly, “Whatever, I’m perfectly capable of going ten minutes without being affectionate.”

“Sure, but is Jeremy?” Rich snickered, turning to the man mentioned.

“Yes, I am.” Jeremy answered, crossing his arms, although there was a light dusting of pink across his cheeks. This was a stupid challenge, he wasn't so desperate he couldn't go ten minutes without affectionate attention from Michael.

“We’re both capable,” Michael huffed indignantly.

“Sure you are,” Jake said sarcastically.

“If you sthay stho,” Rich shrugged, “Anyway…” Rich started going on about something he'd seen on a news that morning. Jeremy and Michael were both ignoring each other, listening intently to Rich as if any eye contact would breach the agreement of the bet.

Michael was determined to do this one simple thing. He wasn't that affectionate anyway, so it didn't matter. He listened to Rich talk, bouncing one leg subconsciously. Jeremy started talking, giving his own opinion to the conversation. Michael wasn't really listening, but he did watch Jeremy talk. Okay, so maybe he really wanted to kiss him in that moment, but he didn't.

He turned to Jake and asked, “Time?”

Jake chuckled, checking the timer on his phone, “Five-ish minutes.” Michael nodded.

“Getting impatient?” Rich asked teasingly.

“No,” he snapped. He crossed his arms and looked away, looking like a child pouting.

“Mhm,” Rich hummed in clear disbelief. Michael glared at him, grinding his teeth.

“Whatever. It's a stupid bet anyway.” Michael said. Jeremy nodded in agreement.

“I know,” Rich stated, shrugging.

“But that doesn't mean I’m not going to win it,” Michael added quickly.

“We’ll sthee about that,” Rich smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. Michael glared, hitting him with the aforementioned lawyer stare. Rich was still smiling, though he faltered a bit because of how oddly nervous that look made him. Michael looked away, feeling he'd successfully thrown Rich off enough. He glanced again at Jake’s phone, which was left out, displaying the timer. Two minutes.

The conversation continued to flow, so much so it was almost hard to hear the alarm going off over the chatter.

“Ha!” Michael triumphantly, pointing at Rich and then the timer. Jake rolled his eyes fondly and hit the stop button.

“I was planning on paying for dinner anyway,” Rich snorted.

“Still,” Michael said, not letting this deter him, “it was more to prove a point. Let me have this little victory.”

“Alright, alright.”

“And now that I can,” he moved towards Jeremy, kissing him slowly. So maybe ten minutes had been difficult considering how much he watched Jeremy’s lips while he talked. Rich sighed as Jeremy, who was also grinning because of their win, kissed back. Michael pulled away, smirking. He promptly flipped Rich off.

Rich looked at him expressionlessly before smiling eerily serenely and saying, “I’ll fucking break your finger if you do that again.”

Michael blinked, a bit stunned. “Damn, alright,” he said, laughing nervously.

“We should probably get going to the restaurant,” Jeremy interjected, checking the time.

“Alright,” Michael said, eager to get away from that conversation.

“Sthpeaking of, Jeremy have you been eating enough lately?” Rich asked.

Jeremy grinned nervously, “Yeah, I think I'm eating pretty well-”

Rich didn't seem convinced. “How many mealsth do you have in a day? And how big are the portionsth?” He continued to interrogate.

Jeremy sighed, preparing himself for a pretty heavy lecture. “I have two meals a day, sometimes one if I’m busy. They're kinda small, but it's enough to keep my energized through the day, so I'm good- oh, hey, I see my car, I'll just go over there and see you guys at the restaurant-”

“Jeremy.” Rich said, demanding Jeremy’s attention. “You stheriousthly need to eat more.”

“I know, but I don't really have the time-”

“Yeah, you do, so don't give me that sthit, Jer.” Rich said sharply. Jeremy averted his eyes, crossing his arm over his stomach.

Michael frowned. “Jeremy, you really should listen to Rich. It's not healthy to not eat…”

“I'm just not that hungry,” Jeremy shrugged.

Michael’s frown turned a bit sadder. “Okay, but you need to eat…” Jeremy glanced over at Michael, feeling his heart drop a bit at his saddened expression.

After a moment of silence, he said, “I'll try.”

Michael's expression lightened a bit. “Okay… let’s get going.”

* * *

Jeremy walked into the restaurant, looking around before spotting Michael already in the waiting lobby. He walked over to him and they waited for Jake and Rich, who arrived a little bit later.

The group was seated and waiter took their drink orders- Jake and Michael both got alcoholic drinks, Rich got a soda, and Jeremy just got a water. Jake and Michael almost immediately started downing their drinks.

“So,” Jake said suddenly, “you say you aren't a murderer, right?” Michael nodded. “But like, don't you have to defend murders sometimes?”

Michael visibly tended up. This had clearly hit a nerve. He set his glass down a bit harder than necessary, silent for a moment. “I'm-” he stood up suddenly, “I need to use the restroom.” He turned on his heel and fled to the bathroom. Jeremy watched him go, a bit confused. He debated whether or not he should go after him before deciding not to. It was probably nothing.

“Is he okay?” Jake asked, feeling a bit responsible.

“I don't know,” Jeremy replied honestly. Jake tried to ignore it, starting to converse with Rich. Michael still hasn't returned when the waiter came to take their orders for food. Jeremy finally stood up. “I'm gonna go check on Michael.”

* * *

Michael was in one of the middle stalls- he'd picked it on purpose since no one ever checks those ones- holding his head and fighting the urge to cry. He really wasn't drunk enough yet to deal with this.

Jeremy could hear the quiet noises coming from the stall and approached it, knocking softly. “Michael?”

 _Fuck_. “I'm fine.” He said, though it came off more like he snapping at Jeremy.

Jeremy frowned a little. “Michael, please tell me what's wrong.”

“It's complicated, okay? Just- go back dinner with your friends. I'm fine.”

“I'm not leaving until you talk to me, Michael,” and then, in a softer and less demanding voice, “please.”

Michael sighed, getting up and unlocking the door and letting it swing open. He looked significantly more tousled than he had going in. “Look, it's just-” he ran a hand through his hair, almost pulling on it from stress, “-what Jake said hit a nerve, that's all,” he shrugged, trying to play it off as something small.

“Oh, shit, I'm sorry, I can talk to him about it-”

“No,” Michael shook his head, “it's really fine.” Though his words came out stiff and disingenuous.

“No, it's not. You're obviously not fine.”

“I am!” He snapped, almost immediately regretting it, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell.” Jeremy seemed a bit shocked by this outburst.

“It's okay, I just wanted to know what was wrong. I'll leave if you want me to,” Jeremy took a step back.

“No, no,” Michael said quickly, all the angry energy was drained out of him, “I’m sorry, please don't leave.”

“Okay,” Jeremy frowned in confusion. It had seemed like Michael wanted him to leave just a moment ago.

“It's this one fucking case,” Michael said finally, “that hasn't stopped bothering me since it happened. This guy, obviously guilty, killed his three daughters- three _children_ , Jeremy,” he made eye contact, stressing his words to emphasize how serious this was, “and I was assigned to defend him. And, shit,” he laughed, but it was not a happy laugh, “I got him off with almost nothing.” He put his face into his hands and mumbled, “God fucking dammit.” Jeremy’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

“Oh my God,” was all he could manage to mutter.

Michael closed his eyes tightly. At this point, it seemed like Jeremy was already disgusted with him, he had nothing to lose anymore. “When Jake said that, all I could see was those little girls, and, fuck, I might as well have killed them myself.”

“Well, to be fair, it's your job to defend people, it's not like you can just scream they're guilty. But that's… really awful. I don't even know how you could've made him seem innocent.” Jeremy shook his head slightly.

“I don't really know either.” He sighed, “You can leave now, I can tell you want to. Just go back to dinner and I'll quietly leave the restaurant, I understand.”

“Michael, no, I just…” Jeremy trailed off.

“You don't have to pretend like you're not disgusted with me!” Michael snapped again, his anger starting to rise again. “Fuck!” He shouted, swinging his left hand out and smacking it into the metal of the stall walls around him. Jeremy was silent, wincing slightly at the sound. Michael held his hand, somewhere between screaming and sobbing. Jeremy really wanted to say something, to tell Michael he wasn't disgusted with him, but all he could manage to do at the moment was helplessly stand there.

“Just… go,” Michael breathed out, still holding his hand. _Jeremy can't even deny that he isn't disgusted._ He gripped his hand tighter. Jeremy again just stood silently again, not knowing what to say. After a few moments, he pulled Michael into a tight hug. Michael stood stock still and stiff, not sure what was happening.

“It really is a terrible thing, but you didn't want to help him, right?” Jeremy asked quietly. “You obviously feel horrible about it…”

“Yeah,” Michael mumbled, his voice small, “it’s kind of stuck with me, the guilt of it.”

“I'm sorry that you had to do that.”

Michael pulled away, crossing his arms tightly across himself. “It's part of the job,” he shrugged, though his eyes were downcast- unable to look Jeremy in the eye.

Jeremy nodded slightly. “Yeah, I wish it wasn't.”

Michael closed his eyes, breathing out slowly. “Me too.”

Jeremy was quiet for a couple seconds before asking, “Do you still want to leave? If so, would you like me to join you? I'm sure Jake and Rich wouldn't mind…”

“I told you, you don't have to pretend you still like me. I- I’m going to leave, but… alone.” Michael frowned.

“Okay, but I do still like you,” Jeremy responded. Michael looked at him, not really believing him.

“Still, I’d like to be alone,” he shrugged.

“Alright, I’ll leave you alone,” Jeremy turned to the exit, glancing back at Michael one more time before walking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~~_i actually hate proofreading chapters w rich's lisp grammarly thought 'since' with the lisp was supposed to be 'sphincter' kill me???_


	14. they're you, who are you kidding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vague Honesty & Fixing Things Ft. Nicole & •Finally Admitting It & The Calm Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is like soft filler between HARD HEAVY ANGST 
> 
> like last chapter the angst train rolled in, this chapter it stopped at a station for a little while, and it starts rolling again full speed next chapter
> 
> also my rp partner is officially a coauthor!!

Jeremy almost bumped right into Jake, who was one step away from the bathroom door, about to come check on them.

“Oh,” he noted the fact that Jeremy had left the bathroom alone. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy said, though the tone of his voice revealed that wasn't entirely true.

“Then where's Michael?” Jake asked timidly.

“He's still in the bathroom.” Jeremy said, opting for vague honesty.

“Is he okay?” Jake asked, to which Jeremy shrugged. He glanced over Jeremy’s shoulder at the door. “Can I go apologize to him or…?”

“I don't think he'd want you to right now.” Jeremy said after thinking about it for a moment.

Jake nodded slightly. “Are you coming back to the table?”

“I suppose, yeah.”

Jake nodded again, turning to walk back to table and sitting down next to Rich. Jeremy followed, finding the food had been brought to the table and no waiter questioned the half empty glass where Michael had been sitting. He poked at his food with his fork.

“Isth Michael okay?” Rich asked, to which he also received a shrug similarly to how Jeremy had answered Jake earlier.

Jake shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the new silence that settled over the table. “Okay, what happened?” He finally asked.

“Nothing really,” Jeremy said, really hoping they'd be okay with that answer though he knew deep down they wouldn't. Jake and Rich shared a look, making sure they each weren't only ones who wasn't buying that.

“I don't believe that’sth true.” Rich said bluntly.

“Well, it's nothing to be concerned about,” Jeremy answered, taking a small bite of his food.

“Why hasn't he come back yet?” Jake asked cautiously.

Jeremy sighed, deciding to stick to vague honesty. “He's leaving early.”

“Why? Are you sure everything's okay?” Jake asked again.

“Yeah, he's just not feeling well,” Jeremy said, once again not lying, but not giving the whole truth by any means.

“Okay…”

* * *

Michael slipped out the restaurant unnoticed, almost immediately calling Nicole as he walked to his car. “Hey, Nic, can you like… come over?”

* * *

“You told him about the case?” Michael nodded mutely in response to Nicole’s words. “ _The_ case. The case-case. The case you almost quit over? That case?” Another silent nod. Nicole sighed in frustration. “I mean… how'd he respond?”

“It wasn't… bad?” He shrugged, “But it wasn't good.”

“How did it even come up?” Nicole sat down next to Michael on the couch.

“His friend mentioned something about me having to defend murderers,” he looked away.

“Oh,” she breathed out, “are you guys- I mean did you- are you still together?”

“I think so, I don't know. He didn't really say anything about it, and I didn't really either, I just left.”

“You _left_? After all that you just _left_?” She asked incredulously.

“I didn't know what else to do!” He gestured with his hand, causing her to notice the bruising on his left hand from slamming it into the wall.

“What happened to your hand?!” She grabbed it a bit quickly but still managed to be ginger and careful with it.

“I, um, kind of punched a wall,” he admitted quietly, shrugging. His hand still hurt and it was pretty badly bruised.

“Michael, what the fuck.”

“I was upset,” he shrugged again.

“So you punched a fuckin’ wall.” Nicole deadpanned.

“Yeah…” he trailed off, looking at the black and blue bruising on his hand.

“You're a dumbass,” Nicole said as she got up and retrieved the first aid kit.

“Yeah…” he didn't have the energy to disagree, and she wasn't wrong. She sat back down next to him, taking his injured hand and wrapping it in bandages.

“Reminds me of college,” she commented, cutting and tying off the bandage. He nodded, understanding what she meant. Not incredibly often, but often enough, he'd end up in a fight and bruise himself pretty badly and she'd sit and do exactly what she was doing now; tend to his wounds. “I'm calling him,” she added, reaching for Michael phone and grabbing it before he could stop her.

“What?” Michael scrambled, trying to get his phone back, but she'd already hit call.

 _“Michael? Do you want me to come over?”_ Jeremy’s worried voice came through.

“It's Nicole, I took his phone, but yes,” Nicole spoke while Michael continued to try and retrieve his phone from her, but she kept strategically dipping and dodging just out of reach.

_“I’ll be over soon.”_

Nicole hung up, finally handing the phone back to Michael. “He’ll be here soon,” she informed him.

“Why are you doing this?” He whined, sprawling out over the couch face down.

“Because I'm trying to help you save your relationship before you try and self-doubt your way out of it,” she scoffed.

Jeremy arrived pretty quickly, knocking on the door. Nicole answered it. “Hey,” she stepped out of the doorway to let Jeremy in and quietly slipped out behind him. Michael hadn't moved from where he was, not wanting to face Jeremy. Jeremy walked over to him.

“Hey.”

Michael sighed, sitting up finally and facing him. “Hey,” he replied, holding his bandaged hand in the other hand, “I'm sorry for leaving like that.”

“It's okay,” Jeremy said, sitting down next to Michael.

“I'm also sorry for snapping,” he rubbed his hand unconsciously, “it was uncalled for.”

“Michael, it's fine, you were really upset.”

“Yeah, but still I shouldn't have yelled at you about it.”

“It could've been worse,” Jeremy muttered, mostly to himself.

“It shouldn’t’ve been bad in the first place,” Michael frowned, glancing around and noticing Nicole must've left without him noticing.

Jeremy shrugged. “Should it’ve been good?”

Michael laughed humorlessly. “It could've been.”

“How could it have been?”

“I could've just not taken what Jake said so seriously,” Michael shrugged.

“Well it reminded you of something awful, it’s not like you can really help that.”

Michael shrugged again. “I overreacted,” he held up his bandaged hand as evidence.

“I suppose,” Jeremy carefully took Michael’s hand into his own, as if he'd break it if he put too much pressure on it, and looked at it with a frown. “Does it hurt?”

Michael winced. “Yeah, a little,” he tried to flex his fingers, but that just caused more pain. Jeremy was still for moment before bringing Michael’s hand to his lips and kissing it gently with a slight smile. Michael flushed, his face turning red quickly. He smiled too, almost giggling.

“I knew that'd work,” Jeremy commented, laughing softly.

“You're a dork,” Michael tried to glare, pulling his hand away.

Jeremy shrugged, still smiling, and replied, “Yeah, but I’m your dork.”

“Unfortunately,” Michael laughed, feeling a familiar weird burst of affection for Jeremy. Jeremy giggled quietly and kissed Michael’s cheek, his own cheeks a little red too. Michael tilted his face towards him, kissing him on the lips for a moment before pulling away and saying, “Fuck, I love you.”

Jeremy’s face turned totally red. He sat there a moment with a look of surprise, before he responded with a smile, “I- I love you too.”

Michael couldn't stop himself from smiling, so he put a hand over his mouth. “What a stupid time to realize that,” he said behind his hand, starting to giggle.

“Pfft, yeah,” Jeremy replied, also starting to laugh. Michael moved his hand in a weird way, reminding him of the pain there.

“Shit-” he mumbled, holding his hand again.

“Are you okay?” Jeremy asked, looking at Michael's hand.

“Yeah, I just moved my hand weirdly, like a dumbass,” Michael huffed what might've been a laugh but was too distracted by the pain.

“Oh, alright. I suppose you should be careful with that for awhile,” Jeremy gestured to Michael’s hand.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “but I'm gonna keep forgetting and trying to use it like a dumbass.”

“Well, you _are_ a dumbass, so there's not much I can do about that except keep reminding you myself,” Jeremy replied.

Michael glared at him, though there wasn't any real anger behind it. “I might be a dumbass, but you're dating me, so what does that say about you?”

“That I'm dating a dumbass.”

“Maybe you're a dumbass too,” Michael laughed, careful this time to not move his hand.

“Maybe,” Jeremy snickered. Michael leaned closer.

“I love you, though.” He was pretty sure that now that he realized this he wasn't going to be able to stop saying it.

“I love you more,” Jeremy teased, also leaning in a little.

Michael frowned just slightly. “Nah,” he leaned in so close he could bump noses with Jeremy.

“Yeah,” Jeremy mumbled, giggling quietly.

“Nope,” Michael closed the small gap, kissing him softly. Jeremy smiled and returned the kiss, enjoying how gentle it was. Michael used his uninjured hand to cup Jeremy’s cheek and pull him closer as he kissed him. Jeremy sighed contentedly, leaning slightly into Michael’s touch.

Michael pulled away after a moment to breathe, looking at Jeremy intensely. “You're really beautiful,” he blurted out.

“No, I'm not,” Jeremy muttered, his face red.

“You are,” Michael insisted, pushing some stray hairs out of Jeremy’s face and tucking them behind his ear.

Jeremy blushed even more, remembering a couple of weeks ago when he was drying his hair and thought about Michael doing this exact thing before- he grinned and connected their lips again. Michael smiled into the kiss, eagerly kissing back. He ran his hand through Jeremy’s hair. Jeremy placed his hands on Michael’s back, where he usually put them.

The feeling of kissing Jeremy was so familiar, Michael instinctively placed his hands on his waist, but quickly recoiled when a sharp pain shot through his hand.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, glaring at his hand for ruining the moment.

“Maybe just don't move your hand,” Jeremy suggested, cautiously taking Michael’s hand in his own again.

“Easier said than done, it's my dominant hand,” he huffed, letting Jeremy take his hand.

“Hm,” Jeremy examined Michael’s hand, “well, I guess punching a metal door wasn't the best idea.”

Michael glared, “Yeah, I know.”

“Well, as your boyfriend, I suppose I should take care of you when you're so seriously hurt,” Jeremy snickered.

“I'm fine,” Michael huffed, retracting his hand quickly, “it's just bruised.”

“Yeah, and you can barely move it without it hurting like hell,” Jeremy pointed out.

“Yeah so,” Michael shrugged, “I don't need you to like, babysit me.”

“I don't need to, but maybe I want to,” Jeremy responded.

“Maybe I don't want you to, I'm fine,” Michael commented, his pride deciding to rear its ugly head at that moment. He didn't like the idea of having to be taken care of.

“Really? Then do something with your hand to prove it.” Jeremy dared him. Michael frowned, but was determined to prove his point. He tried to bend his fingers, but almost immediately let out a small noise of pain.

“Okay, so maybe it's not okay, but I'm fine.”

“Well, why shouldn't I stay here with you?”

“I didn't say you couldn't stay,” Michael said quickly, “just that I don't need you to babysit me.”

“Alright,” Jeremy replied, “why shouldn't I babysit you?”

“Because I'm a grown-ass adult,” Michael huffed, “and I can take care of myself.”

“Okay,” Jeremy gave a half-shrug and leaned back a little on the couch, snickering to himself.

“Are you laughing at me?” Michael frowned.

“No,” Jeremy answered.

Michael stuck his tongue out. “Meanie.” Jeremy started laughing more.

“Meanie?”

“Yeah, meanie,” Michael crossed his arms- careful not to move his hand too much.

“I thought only kindergarteners used that word,” Jeremy commented, still laughing.

“Well, them and me,” Michael glared at him, pouting.

“You're adorable,” Jeremy giggled, finding Michael’s angry pout very cute.

“Am not,” Michael replied.

“Are too.”

“Am _not_ ,” Michael continued to insist.

“Are _too_ ,” Jeremy crossed his arms, still snickering a little bit.

“Am nooooot,” Michael shook his head.

“Are toooooo,” Jeremy nodded.

“Shhh, nope, am not.”

“Mm, yes, are too.”

“Nope,” in an effort to quiet Jeremy’s protests, Michael pulled him in and kissed him. Jeremy almost immediately back, grinning. Michael pulled Jeremy in closer, careful now to not use his injured hand. Jeremy sighed happily, placing his hands low on Michael’s back. Michael used just his uninjured hand to hold Jeremy’s waist, pulling him onto his lap and deepening the kiss. Jeremy tilted his head slightly, making a small noise as he was pulled.

Michael slid his hand just slightly up Jeremy’s shirt, causing Jeremy to shiver a tiny bit. He wanted so badly to use both of his hands, but having to hold back so it didn't ruin the moment again. He ran his hand all the way up Jeremy’s shirt, feeling the warm skin there, and he carefully used his other hand to pull Jeremy’s face closer. Jeremy bit Michael's bottom lip softly, asking for entrance, and Michael obliged, opening his mouth. Jeremy slid his tongue in, gripping the back of Michael's shirt as he let his tongue explore the other’s mouth. Michael let out a small moan, running his tongue along Jeremy's.

Jeremy emitted a small whine, shifting in Michael’s lap. He unintentionally rubbed against Michael's crotch, causing him to let out a moan which he quickly cut short. Jeremy was silent for a moment before he pulled away slightly, his face turning red. He wanted to hear that again. He looked down before smirking, seeing that Michael was already beginning to get a hard-on. He shifted once again so he had a knee to Michael’s crotch. He pressed against it, hoping for a good reaction. Michael, in response, bit his lip, barely holding back a moan, the sound coming out a bit strangled. His face started to heat up when he realized Jeremy was doing this on purpose.

Jeremy began to kiss Michael’s neck, rubbing against his clothed erection as he did so. Michael groaned, no longer able to stop himself. He subconsciously tilted his head back slightly, giving Jeremy better access to his neck. Jeremy bit down a little, loving the noises Michael made. Michael bucked his hips up, looking for more forceful contact. It vaguely registered in his mind that Jeremy was definitely leaving hickeys, but he wasn't too concerned with that right now.

Jeremy made a few more marks on Michael's neck before leaning up to his ear and mumbling, “Do you remember a few days ago when I was drunk and I said I wanted to suck your dick?”

Michael shuddered, feeling Jeremy’s breath. “Yeah,” he said, remembering that pretty clearly, though he was surprised that Jeremy did, considering how drunk he was.

“Well, I'm still up to it if you want…”

“Yes,” Michael said quickly. Jeremy smirked, slipping off of Michael and kneeling down in front of the couch before looking up at him with a seemingly innocent expression. Michael fought the urge to roll his eyes. He started shifting his pants down with one hand- which was surprisingly difficult- and mumbled, “Should I…?”

“Should you what?” Jeremy asked with a smirk that said he knew what Michael was trying to ask. Michael squirmed, more used to doing the teasing than being teased.

“Take off my pants, asshole.”

“Sure,” Jeremy replied, shrugging with his smirk still on his face. Michael frowned, trying to manage the task with one hand but failing miserably.

After a few moments of watching him fumble, Jeremy chuckled and said, “I can take them off for you, if you'd like.” Michael huffed, not wanting to admit he couldn't get his pants off without both hands.

“Yeah, sure.”

Jeremy snickered and began to pull down Michael’s pants, eventually getting them around his ankles. Michael flushed, a bit embarrassed at having to get help doing something that should've been an easy thing. He silently cursed his past self for messing up his hand.

Jeremy leaned up and tugged at the hem of Michael’s boxers with his teeth, causing Michael to shiver. He used one hand to tease Michael over his boxers. Michael whined, not expecting a taste of his own medicine when it came to teasing. Jeremy snickered, clearly amused. He didn't want to take too long, since he was eager himself, so he soon pulled down Michael’s boxers. Michael let out what was supposed to be a sigh of relief, but it too came out as a whimper.

Jeremy admired Michael’s erection for a moment before leaning up slightly and giving an experimental lick. Michael sucked in a sharp breath, going to grab Jeremy’s shoulder initially with his left hand, but quickly corrected himself and used his right hand to grip Jeremy’s shoulder tightly.

Jeremy looked up at Michael with the same innocent expression before taking the tip of his cock into his mouth. Michael let out a choked moan, bucking his hips up slightly. Jeremy placed his hands firmly on Michael’s hips, keeping him from thrusting up anymore. Jeremy tried his best to suppress his gag reflex and sink slowly down onto Michael’s cock, taking in as much as he could.

“J-Jeremy-” Michael moaned, trying again to thrust up but effectively being stopped by Jeremy’s hands.

Jeremy started to bob up and down, trying to be as slow as possible without going too slow for his own liking. He would go up to the tip, almost pulling off, before sinking back down again, which led to Michael writhing underneath him, a moaning mess. He soon removed one of his hands from Michael’s hips to and used it to palm himself over his pants, causing him to moan around Michael's cock.

Michael arched his back, moaning loudly. The vibrations almost sent him over the edge right then and there. He moved his hand from Jeremy’s shoulder and brought it to his mouth, biting on his finger to both silence and ground himself. Jeremy started to go a little faster, letting out whimpers and occasional moans as he continued to palm himself.

Michael whimpered, having to move his hand to speak. “J-Jeremy- I’m-” he gasped sharply, “-close-” he barely managed to get the finally word out. Jeremy headed the warning, pulling off with a smirk. He replaced his mouth with the hand he wasn't to touch himself, stroking Michael at the same pace he had been.

“Come for me, please,” he moaned quietly, looking up at Michael. Michael moaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he came.

“Fuck,” he panted.

Jeremy stopped palming himself and removed the hand he'd used on Michael, which now had a bit of Michael’s cum on it. He looked at it for a moment before licking a bit of the sticky liquid off. He cringed slightly, not really liking the taste. “Kind of glad I didn't swallow that,” Jeremy mumbled, chuckling breathlessly.

Michael laughed breathlessly, too. He noticed Jeremy’s hard-on, evident even through his pants. He pulled Jeremy back up to eye level again. “Want some help with that?” He asked, gesturing to his crotch. Jeremy blushed and nodded, liking that idea quite a bit.

Michael smirked, reaching down to touch Jeremy over his pants. Jeremy moaned, the sensation somehow better than when he did it to himself. Michael then tried to undo his pants, but again found himself really needing two hands.

“Can you,” Michael huffed in frustration, “undo your pants?” Jeremy chuckled quietly.

“Sure,” Jeremy unbuttoned his pants, pulling down the zipper before sliding them down a bit. Michael then slid his hand into Jeremy’s boxers, not wasting any time in wrapping his hand around Jeremy’s cock, stroking him at a fair pace. Jeremy moaned quietly loudly before tucking his into Michael's shoulder, blushing immensely.

Michael smirked, storing that sound away for later. He stroked Jeremy at a gradually increasing pace, getting quicker and quicker as he went.

“Fuck, Michael,” Jeremy groaned as he started to thrust into Michael’s hand, wanting more. Michael let him, too distracted by the sounds he was making to care.

Jeremy was panting as he whined, “Michael, I’m so clo-” he was cut off by another moan, continuing to thrust desperately into Michael’s hand.

“Come for me, Jeremy,” Michael whispered into Jeremy’s ear, his voice low and seductive. And, _oh god_ , that set Jeremy off. He arched his back a bit as he came in Michael’s hand while groaning loudly. He didn't noticed the few tears that streamed down his face until he had come down from his climax. He didn't do anything about them, he just continued to rest his head on Michael’s shoulder, breathing heavily.

Michael removed his hand, wiping it on his shirt- whatever, he’d wash it later- before reaching up to move Jeremy’s face. He noticed the tears and gently wiped them away. “Hey.”

Jeremy smiled tiredly. “Hey.”

“I love you,” Michael mumbled, running a hand through Jeremy’s hair. He was still being very careful to not use his injured hand.

“I love you, too,” Jeremy replied quietly, blushing slightly.

“Wanna head to bed?” Michael offered, being pretty tired himself.

“Yeah,” Jeremy answered, yawning softly. Michael stood, pulling his pants back up just enough- he knew he'd have to take them off once he got to his room and got changed, so he didn't even bother trying to redo the button- before offering his hand to Jeremy. Jeremy redid his own pants and took Michael’s hand, standing with him.

Michael walked to his room, almost immediately starting to strip to change. Jeremy couldn't keep himself from watching Michael take his clothes off- it was kind of funny when he could only really use one hand. He snickered. Michael glared at him, halfway through pulling on a pair of pajama pants, which he was managing though it was difficult. Jeremy gave him an amused grin in return.

Michael sighed, finally finishing up getting changed and crawling into the bed. Jeremy decided to just strip down to his t-shirt and boxers since he didn't have anything else to change into. He got into the bed with Michael with a small smile. Michael happily wrapped his arms around Jeremy’s neck, pulling him closer. Jeremy’s smile widened a bit. He loved this, he loved _Michael_. Which was odd, considering just a few weeks ago he absolutely hated him- or, at least, that's what he told himself.

Michael tucked his face into the crook of Jeremy’s neck, cuddling up to him. He sighed happily, closing his eyes and easily falling asleep. Jeremy closed his eyes, too, falling asleep soon after.


	15. im not like them (i wont buy in)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unknown Number & Suspicion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuckin,,,
> 
> here it comes
> 
> (blame tlos, not me, this was her idea)
> 
> also smth weird af happened and chapter 14 was posted twice

Jeremy woke up to the sound of his phone going off. He reached down to fish around in his discarded pants before picking it up, taking a moment to notice the time- _3:42 a.m._ \- but not the caller identity- _‘Unknown Number’_ \- before groggily hitting accept.

“Who are you and why are you calling me at three a.m.?” He muttered, not waking to wake Michael, who was still half wrapped around him with one arm draped over his chest.

_“Jeremy, it's been awhile hasn't it?”_

Jeremy's eyes widened. He recognized the voice. “Who are you?”

_“You don't remember me? How sad, I thought I made an impact on you. Made you better.”_

Jeremy was silent in response before hanging up. That had to be some kind of joke, he figured. It's been nearly eleven years since he’d heard from Sebastian, they couldn't have found him. He thought they would've forgotten about him anyway, like he almost did about them. He set his phone down and settled back in Michael’s arms, trying to ignore the memories that prank call was dredging up. Michael started to stir just slightly.

“Mm, Jeremy?” He blinked tiredly, sitting up a bit. “Why're you awake…” he trailed off into a yawn.

“Just got some phone call from a random number,” Jeremy replied, though he sounded a bit off. Michael frowned, suspicion starting to grow, but he was too tired to entertain the thought.

“Alright,” he yawned again, laying back down.

“Sorry for waking you,” Jeremy mumbled.

“‘S fine,” Michael slurred tiredly, already starting to fall asleep.

Jeremy closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep again, but eventually gave up. The haunting fear of Sebastian finding him and hurting him along with all the terrible memories managed to keep him awake all night. He was shaking slightly while letting out quiet whimpers, crying softly. He hoped Michael didn't want up before he normally did.

As the time got closer and closer, he cleaned himself up a bit and tried make it look like he hadn't stayed up all night crying. Michael did wake at his usual time, pretty early in the morning.

“Mornin’,” Michael mumbled, groggily rubbing his eyes.

“Morning,” Jeremy replied, his voice sounding hoarse, but hopefully he could pass it off as just waking up. He kept his face turned away from Michael to hide the tear stains.

“Jeremy, are you okay?” Michael sat up onto his elbow. It had taken him a moment to notice, but Michael wasn't blind, he saw the tear stains.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jeremy lied quickly.

“Please don't lie, you look like you were crying…” Michael said with a frown.

“I just had a nightmare, that's all,” Jeremy said, wishing that was really the case.

“Oh,” Michael said with some relief, seeming to accept this answer. He wiped the tear stains from Jeremy’s face and kissed his cheek afterwards, which made Jeremy smile just slightly. Michael shifted a bit, getting up out of the bed. “Want some breakfast?” He offered.

Jeremy sat up and just shrugged in response. He wasn't very hungry. Michael looked him oddly. “Are you sure you're okay?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Michael didn't seem convinced, but he didn't push it. He leaned down and kissed Jeremy’s forehead. “I'm gonna go make some food, you should eat something.”

“Alright,” Jeremy sighed, still not getting out of bed. Michael gave him one last concerned look before heading to the kitchen.

Jeremy got up a few minutes later, pulling on some of his discarded clothing. He glanced nervously at his phone before leaving the room, deciding he could get it later. He walked into the kitchen to find Michael just finishing up making breakfast, humming to himself.

“Hey,” he smiled as Jeremy walked in, “just in time.”

“Mm,” Jeremy smiled back, not saying anything. Michael passed him a plate of food, getting one for himself before they both sat down on at the table. Jeremy took a few smaller bites of the food, while Michael was practically digging into his. Jeremy chuckled softly. Michael glanced up, seemingly to make sure Jeremy was eating. Jeremy purposely took a few slightly larger bites.

He ate about half of the food on his plate before sitting back. “I'm kinda full,” he said. Michael glanced over at Jeremy’s plate, seemingly coming to the conclusion that he'd at least eaten enough.

“Alright…” Michael got up, taking his completely empty plate and Jeremy’s still half full plate. He threw away what was left on Jeremy’s plate before putting both plates in the sink to be washed later.

Jeremy headed back to Michael's room, checking his phone to see that there were two new messages from the same unknown number that had called him last night.

>> **Unknown Number** : Hey baby boy, why aren't you at your house? I came all this way and you're not even here~  
>I asked you a question. Answer it.

Jeremy cringed at the nickname. So the person was apparently at his house. Waiting for him. _No, no, it's just some kind of cruel prank. This person probably doesn't even know his address!_ He ignored it- well, he tried to- telling himself over and over it was just a prank. If he didn't respond, the person would soon get bored. He pocketed his phone and left the bedroom again.

“Hey, we have today off, wanna watch some shitty movies or something?” Michael asked, not seeming to notice the distressed look on Jeremy’s face- at least not at first.

“Sure,” Jeremy replied. Anything to keep him from having to go back to his house. _Not that I actually think there's someone there, I just don't want to go back. Just because… because yeah._

Michael was midway through picking a movie when he finally looked at Jeremy. “Are you alright? You look anxious.”

“Oh, I'm fine,” Jeremy faked a smile. Michael frowned sadly, clearly not believing him. He sighed, picking a movie and sitting down on the couch. Michael patted the space next to him on the couch and Jeremy came over and sat down next to him. Jeremy kept his attention firmly on the screen. He felt really awful about lying to Michael, but he couldn't exactly tell him what was actually going on.

* * *

Michael put his arm around Jeremy and sighed, but it wasn't a happy sigh. He wondered about what Jeremy was clearly lying about and why would he lie. He bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth.

Jeremy looked at him, seeming to notice how worried Michael looked. “Are _you_ alright?”

“Yeah,” Michael said, figuring if Jeremy was going to lie, he might as well too. Besides, it wasn't like he could just say what he was thinking.

“Okay then,” Jeremy said, clearly not believing him. They both turned their attention back to the screen and movie in front of them, though the air still felt tense from the weight of both of them lying.

After the movie ended, they sat in silence for a moment before Michael spoke up. “Wanna watch another?” He asked, feeling weird without the movie to distract them both from whatever they were each lying about.

“Sure,” Jeremy replied. Michael set up another movie, looking again at Jeremy with obvious concern. “You seem concerned,” Jeremy pointed out, “are you see you're alright?”

“You've been acting weird,” Michael said honestly, “I dunno, it's getting to me. I'm worried.”

“I've been acting weird?” Jeremy asked like he genuinely didn't know. Michael vaguely wondered if this was what gaslighting felt like.

“Whatever, nevermind,” he frowned, looking away.

“Okay…” Jeremy glanced at his phone, becoming visibly more anxious as he did.

* * *

>> **Unknown Number** : Get your ass over here  
>Since you weren't here, I just let myself in. I hope you're okay with that.  
>Are you purposely avoiding me?  
>You know that's not going to work, baby boy  
>I'll get to you eventually  
>Have you been masturbating? You know that's not allowed.

Jeremy turned off his phone, feeling incredibly uneasy.

* * *

Michael noticed the shift in Jeremy’s attitude, it wasn't hard, and it just served to further his suspicions. _He keeps checking his phone and then looking really anxious, plus that three a.m. call- no, there's no way. Jeremy wouldn't- would he…?_ His thoughts started to get away from him so he cut them off. He couldn't keep his arm around Jeremy while his mind was going off like this, so he tried to inconspicuously unravel himself. Jeremy seemed to notice, though, and frowned, but seemed otherwise unaffected.

Michael kept his arm to himself for the rest of the movie, glancing at Jeremy occasionally. What was once worry was slowly being replaced with suspicion.

The movie came to end and Michael sighed. He looked at the credits rolling and then at Jeremy before glancing away altogether. He felt distanced suddenly from Jeremy, but wasn't sure how to bridge the gap. A small part of him was saying _it's because you told him you loved him, it scared him now- but, Jeremy was the one to technically say it first- and didn't it scare you away?_

“I'm sorry for worrying you,” Jeremy suddenly blurted out. Michael jumped, jolted from his thoughts suddenly.

“It's fine,” he lied and gave a weak smile, “if you’re really fine then… it's fine.”

“Alright,” Jeremy said. Except both of them knew something was wrong. Michael frowned as Jeremy’s phone went off again. He strained to read it- catching just a few words ‘come home’ ‘want to see you.’

* * *

>> **Unknown Number** : You should come home, I want to see you  
>Maybe you look better than you did in high school

>> **you** : This isn't funny, stop it.

>> **Unknown Number** : I’m not joking with you, baby boy  
>I'm right here in your living room and I can prove it.  
> _[image attachment]_

Jeremy hesitantly opened the image, seeing a crystal clear picture of his living room. His breathing picked up pace. _There's no way, they probably found the picture online or something. Not that I post pictures of my living room on the internet… shit…_ He suddenly panicked about if Michael could see this, and tilted his phone away.

* * *

The way Jeremy tilted his phone away combined with the few words he’d managed to read didn't help soothe his suspicions. He frowned, looking away. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he had a good idea already.

* * *

>> **you** : I’m going to call the police if you don't leave me alone and get out of my house.

>> **Unknown Number** : I wouldn't do that if I were you

Jeremy paused, not really knowing how to respond. What would they do to him if he decided to contact the cops? Possibilities filled his head and he eventually decided to not reply for the time being.

Michael looked over at him. “Seriously, Jeremy, what's going on?” He finally asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Your phone keeps going off, and whenever it does you look incredibly anxious and tilt your phone screen away from me,” he recapped, as if what he was getting at was obvious but Jeremy wasn't putting it together yet. “If-” Michael's voice cracked and Jeremy was immediately alarmed, “If there's someone else, just fucking tell me,” he finished his sentences with a decrescendo, sounding somewhere between sadness and anger.

Jeremy eyes widened in shock. “Michael, no- I’m not- I can explain,” he said, though he really didn't want to explain.

“Okay, then explain,” Michael said stiffly, not seeming convinced.

Jeremy didn't reply for a moment, deciding where to start. He sighed softly. “For about half of my junior year, I was dating this guy named Sebastian. They were pretty nice at first but then they… they changed, and…” Jeremy trailed off, quiet for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, they apparently got my phone number and tracked me down, so they're now waiting for me in my living room while messaging me to come home, and honestly I'm scared.”

Michael blinked, silent for a moment as he was processing everything Jeremy had just said. “You-You don't expect me to believe that,” he mumbled.

“I'm telling you the truth, Michael,” Jeremy insisted.

Michael frowned, looking at Jeremy intensely. Jeremy got the feeling he was trying to tell if he was lying. He sat back slightly after a moment. “It sounds pretty unlikely.”

“I know it does, but I'm not lying to you.”

Michael seemed to crack a bit, finally showing some sign he was believing Jeremy. “So, I’ll go to your house,” he said suddenly, “if this… Sebastian guy is there, they won't be expecting me and maybe I can,” he shrugged, “get some of your stuff and you can stay here for awhile.”

“I- okay…” Jeremy said, not expecting that. “I don't want them to hurt you, though.”

“I can handle myself,” Michael said, and then softer, “and I'd rather me than you.”

“Well, I’d rather get hurt than you get hurt,” Jeremy replied before muttering, “besides, I've been through it many times before, I can probably take it-”

“No.” Michael cut him off with a firm tone. “No, I'm- I'm not letting you get hurt. Just,” he sighed, “let me do this for you, okay? Maybe they won't even be there.”

Jeremy was taken aback by Michael’s sudden response. “O-Okay.”

“I'll text you when I get there, and if I don't text you after that, then… assume they're there,” Michael said, “okay?”

“Okay,” Jeremy said with a slight nod, though he still felt unsure about letting Michael do this for him. Michael got up, kissing Jeremy on the forehead.

“I'll be fine, I promise,” he started to walk towards the door, throwing on some shoes.

“Okay… thank you,” Jeremy said quietly.

“Of course,” Michael replied with a light smile as he walked out the door.


	16. dont quit 'til 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Squip Enters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy hell this chapter is  
> a _lot_  
>  for one, it's about 1.5k more words than my usual chapter lengths (2k)
> 
> for another
> 
> so m u c h happens,,, there's only one 'part' in the chapter description but it's _so much_ like so much  
>  3.5k words much (google docs says about 3.5k, grammarly says 4k and ao3 usually says less than google idk man)
> 
> anyway have this

Michael pulled his car into the driveway, sending a quick text to Jeremy to let him know he was there before heading up to the door.

Sebastian turned their head at the sound of the front door opening, clearly expecting to see Jeremy and being a bit thrown off when Michael walked in. “Who are you?”

Michael tried to act surprised to find someone here, but his heart had leapt into his throat. “Who are you?” He shot back, hoping to throw them off more.

“I asked you,” Sebastian crossed their arms, looking unamused. Michael paused for a moment, contemplating if he should give some kind of fake name.

He couldn't come up with one fast enough and on impulse decided it wasn't life-ending if they knew his first name. “Michael. Now, who are you?”

“You can call me Squip. Weird nickname, I know, but that's what my friends call me,” Sebastian shrugged. Michael frowned, trying not to let on that he knew their actual name. “By the way, do you happen to know anyone by the name of Jeremy Heere? I've been waiting here for hours and I'm worried about him.” Michael ground his teeth, _worried my ass_.

“I don't, I think you have the wrong house…” he lied, just as his phone buzzed with a text presumably from Jeremy himself.

“I'm sure that I have the right house.”

Michael tried to inconspicuously reach for his phone. “Well, this isn't- Jeremy, did you say?- this isn't his house.” Sebastian's eyes followed his hand as he reached for his phone, but they didn't say anything about it.

“Well I'm sure this isn't your house either,” they replied.

Michael narrowed his eyes. “And how are you so sure of that?”

“Would you have any of Jeremy’s belongings?” Sebastian held up a small teddy bear that he'd obviously found in Jeremy’s apartment. “This is Jer-Bear, Jeremy named it after himself. Well, he named it after what his mother used to call him when he was a little kid. His parents got divorced and his mother left, this was one of the only things he had to remember her by. He used to fall asleep with it in his arms, even in high school sometimes. It was kind of cute, but childish,” Sebastian set it down on the couch. “So, is that yours?” They asked with a sly smile, knowing Michael had to say no.

Michael blinked. So there was a lot about Jeremy he didn't know. “Fair enough,” he said, chewing his lip, wondering if there was any way for him to take out his phone and text Jeremy right then. He could feel his phone buzzing with notifications. He slowly started to take his phone out of his pocket.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked, signaling to Michael’s phone, “Is your phone really necessary right now?” 

“Yes,” Michael replied stubbornly. He unlocked his phone and read through Jeremy’s texts.

>> **jer-bear** : Michael?  
>how's it going?  
>is Sebastian there?  
>did they hurt you?  
>are you okay?  
>Michael???  
>please answer

“Why? What's so important?” Sebastian asked, trying to subtly lean over and read Michael’s screen. Michael dodged slightly, tilting his phone away.

“Nothing,” he said as he started to tap out a reply.

Before Michael could send the text, Sebastian grabbed the phone from his hands. While dodging Michael’s attempts to get his phone back, they quickly sent a response.

>> **you** : Everything’s fine

And they then pocketed the phone. “So you do know Jeremy,” he said, raising an eyebrow. Michael reached one last time to try and grab his phone, but it had already disappeared into Sebastian's pocket.

“So I do,” he said stiffly, clenching his jaw.

“Where is he right now?”

“I don't know,” Michael answered, not wanting Sebastian to know where Jeremy was in general, but also definitely not wanting to give away his address.

“Are you sure you don't know?” Sebastian took a step forward. Michael took one back.

Michael narrowed his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“Who are you to Jeremy?” Sebastian asked, looking at him critically. “A friend?”

Michael paused. “Friend, yeah.” Not _entirely_ a lie.

“I see,” Sebastian looked down at Michael’s hands, noticing one was wrapped in bandages. “Oh, did you get hurt?” Before Michael could respond or protest, they took Michael’s hand and closely examined the bandages around it. Michael gasped, letting out a tiny sound of pain, though his hand was throbbing.

“Yes,” he managed, trying to pull his hand away.

But Sebastian held tightly to his hand, their expression darkening to a downright sinister smirk. “I’m sorry, am I hurting you?” They pressed their thumb into Michael’s knuckles. Michael winced, hissing in pain.

“Asshole,” he muttered as the pain got worse and worse. He knew he didn't have the energy to fight, but he had to do something.

“How rude,” Sebastian said in mock offense, not loosening their grip in the slightest. Michael’s mind was running with a million different comebacks, but he settled on gearing up his other hand to punch Sebastian. He swung and nailed them across the jaw, taking his left hand back.

Sebastian reached up with the hand they hadn't been using to grip Michael’s to touch where he'd been hit, looking a bit surprised. Of course, surprise was soon replaced with anger and they returned the painful gesture by kneeing Michael in the gut.

“Ack-” Michael doubled over, telling himself over and over _get up, stand up._ He tried to kick Sebastian, but it was weak and Sebastian just ignored it. They landed several more hits to his ribs, then slammed him against the wall.

Michael could already tell he was losing this fight. He definitely underestimated Sebastian's strength. He wondered if he could if there was any way for him to reach his phone from their pocket. Sebastian saw his gaze move to their pocket and smirked. They pulled the phone out and held it up in a vice grip.

“What? You want this back?” They asked in amusement.

Michael tried to reach for it, but missed completely and ended up stumbling forward. In an effort to catch himself, he made the mistake of putting out his left hand. He cried out in pain, _fuck, fuck, fuck- get up._ He pushed himself back up to his feet, glaring at Sebastian, who was still tightly gripping his phone. They kicked Michael back down.

“Password?” Sebastian asked, turning on his phone.

“Fuck you,” Michael spat, tasting blood in his mouth.

“Don't be difficult,” Sebastian grumbled.

“Fuck. You.” Michael repeated.

Sebastian frowned, experimentally putting that in as the passcode. When it turned out to be correct, they raised an eyebrow. “Why is your phone password ‘fuck you’?” They asked as they scrolled through the texts between Jeremy and Michael- definitely taking note of the contact name for Jeremy.

Michael huffed, almost laughing. “Friend of mine thought she was being funny,” he remembered with some fondness, wishing now he'd thought to change it. He tried to get back up, but collapsed again.

“Is it really that hard to get up?” Sebastian commented.

“Motherfucker-” Michael coughed, “it is because you fucked up my rib.” He glared. Sebastian rolled their eyes, sending a text to Jeremy.

>> **you** : Hey, I need your help with something, can you come over?

“What're you doing-”

“Oh, nothing,” Sebastian replied flippantly.

>> **jer-bear** : with what?

“Don't you dare fucking text Jeremy-” he said, his words harsh thought he knew he had nothing to back up that threat.

>> **you** : I don't know what you want, and even if I did, I wouldn't know what it looks like

>> **jer-bear** : Is Sebastian there?

>> **you** : No, not at the moment

They snickered a little. “Why not?” They said to Michael.

>> **jer-bear** : will they come back?

>> **you** : I don't know

Michael ground his teeth. “Leave him alone, asshole.”

“You have no control over what I do,” Sebastian said in reply, waiting for a reply from Jeremy, who was still typing. “While we're here, why don't you tell me about yourself? That'll fill some time.”

Michael let out a hoarse laugh. “I'm not telling you shit.”

“I'm not asking much,” Sebastian shrugged.

“And I'm not telling you anything,” Michael spat.

“What's the harm in talking about yourself? I'm not going to remember you for very long, anyway. You're not important to me.”

“The fuck do you even wanna know about me?” He asked with a sharp glare.

Sebastian thought for a moment. “I don't know, your fears, weakness, and insecurities? You probably don't want to talk about those, though, so anything you can think of about yourself.”

“What kind of predatory bullshit-” he cut himself off with a sigh, “there's nothing about me you need to know.”

“What if I want to know?” Sebastian asked.

Michael rolled his eyes. “You just said I didn't matter to you and you'd forget anyway. So, clearly, you don't.”

“Hm. Oh well,” they glanced down at Michael's phone as a reply finally came.

>> **jer-bear** : Okay, I suppose I could come over

Sebastian couldn't hold back a sly grin as they pocketed Michael’s phone again. “Jeremy should be here soon,” they notified Michael.

“Fuck,” Michael mumbled. He tried again to stand up, struggling the whole way. He managed to prop himself up against the couch. It wasn't standing, but it was an improvement.

“Have fun trying to get up, I want you gone as soon as Jeremy gets here,” Sebastian said as they pulled back the closed curtains to check for Jeremy.

“No way, I'm not leaving you alone with him.” He stayed firmly where he was. Even if he couldn't stand, he wasn't leaving them alone with Jeremy.

“Why? Do you not trust me with him? I'm not going to hurt him,” they said in the most disingenuous tone Michael had ever heard.

“Bullshit,” he bit out. “Why should I trust you with him?” He asked, gesturing to his situation- still collapsed slightly on the floor with blood dripping from his mouth.

“I attacked you because you provoked me. I can't think of anything Jeremy could do that would provoke me at all,” Sebastian explained, continuing before Michael could respond. “Besides, do you really think I'd ever do anything to hurt Jeremy after not seeing him for eleven years?”

“You-You grabbed my hand, unprovoked,” he pointed out. “And I wouldn't know, but I don't trust you.” _Eleven years,_ he thought, _had Sebastian really been stalking him that long?_

“Well your injured hand interested me,” Sebastian shrugged.

“Whatever, I'm not leaving,” Michael glared, though he knew he wasn't very intimidating at that moment.

“Yes, you are. You're going to leave whether you like it or not,” Sebastian responded, returning the glare.

“I'm not going anywhere,” Michael crossed his arms.

“Don't be so stubborn,” Sebastian replied, walking towards Michael.

Michael frowned, grinding his teeth. “Fuck you.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Do you mean that, or are you just telling me your password again?”

Michael narrowed his eyes, unamused. “I mean it. I'm not going anywhere, fuck you.”

“Hm. You have some nerve, that's admirable,” Sebastian mumbled, “but foolish.” They pulled Michael up, forcing him to stand.

Michael purposely made himself dead weight, knowing he couldn't fight back but making it as difficult as possible for them to carry him.

“Just- get up-” Sebastian said, though they were managing to carry him despite it being a bit difficult.

“Fuck you,” Michael struggled against them, aware still that he wasn't going to be able to free himself, but making it even harder on Sebastian.

Once Sebastian got to the door, they looked through the peephole of the door quickly to see that Jeremy was pulling up to the apartment. They quickly handed Michael his phone back and waited for Jeremy to get to the door.

Jeremy got out of the car and began to make his way towards the door, looking a bit worried and hesitant. Michael took a deep breath before pounding his uninjured hand against the door, hoping Jeremy would get the message. It hurt like hell, but it was the only thing he could think to do. Jeremy took a step back, unsure why Michael would knock from the other side.

Sebastian grabbed his hand before Michael could continue, frowning. So, Michael shouted, though he wasn't sure he could loud enough. “Jeremy, do _not_ come in!” Though his voice was hoarse and almost unrecognizable. Sebastian covered Michael’s mouth with one of their hands roughly, aiming to both hurt and silence him. 

Michael tried to shout from behind Sebastian’s hand, though it was more muffled incoherency than real words this time. God, he hoped this worked.

Sebastian gave up, throwing Michael aside, slamming him into the wall beside the door. They opened the door about halfway and grabbed Jeremy’s arm, trying to pull him. Jeremy let out a small shriek and struggled against Sebastian.

 _Fuck,_ Michael pushed himself off the wall, yanking Sebastian's other arm to try and get them to let go of Jeremy. Sebastian managed to pull Jeremy a few inches closer before Jeremy grabbed onto the railing that led to the door.

“Let go of me!” Jeremy yelled although the fear in his voice was evident.

Michael bit the inside of his cheek, preparing himself for pain before swinging his right hand and punching the back of Sebastian’s head. He heard a sickening crunch but was pretty sure it _wasn't_ Sebastian’s head. This causes Sebastian to let go of Jeremy’s arm in shock. They stumbled back a bit from the impact. Jeremy took off, running back to his car.

Sebastian was silent for a moment, looking a bit dizzy, before shutting the door and turning to Michael. Michael smirked a bit nervously. “I told you I wasn't letting you get to him.”

Sebastian scowled. “I guess I'll just have to make do with what I have.”

Michael's smirk fell for a moment before he forced it back up. “Yeah?” Before Sebastian could answer, Michael felt his phone blowing up.

>> **jer-bear** : Michael Isaw you in there  
>run  
>please  
>answer me  
>tell me youreokah  
>please ge tout of there  
>leave  
>I'll go back if you need me  
>I just want you to be okay  
>I don't care if they hurt me anymore

All of them went unread.

“Get up,” Sebastian demanded. Michael knew it was Jeremy texting him, but he had no idea how to take his phone out now and reply with Sebastian watching him. He stood slowly, shakily, grinding his teeth to distract himself from the pain coming from his midsection.

“Good,” Sebastian smiled deviously, pulling out a sheathed knife. “I would say I'm not going to hurt you if you obey, but I've already wounded, so I suppose that statement isn't valid anymore.”

>> **jer-bear** : Run away from that maniac  
>please  
>answer me

* * *

Jeremy was curled up in a ball with his phone in his hands, frantically texting Michael from his car- he had yet to get out. Tears were beginning to well up his eyes, having to accept that Michael wasn't going to respond. He could be dead, for all Jeremy knew.

He quickly switched from the messaging app to the phone, dialing 9-1-1 in a hurry. The dial tone seemed to last forever.

“Nine-one-one, what is your emer-”

“Yes, hello, u-um, there's an insane psychopath in my apartment and I managed t-to escape, but my boyfriend is still in there and I-I don't know what they're going to do to him and-”

“Have they threatened to hurt anyone?”

“They already ha-ave, my boyfriend is injured.”

“What is the address of the emergency?” Jeremy quickly spewed the full address, hoping the person on the other line got it though he was stuttering and hiccuping. “Alright, sir, are you currently at the location of the emergency yourself?”

“N-No. I'm- I’m outside of it.”

“We’ve sent officers there, they will handle it. Please stay o-”

“O-Okay, thank you,” Jeremy said, hitting the end call and taking a deep breath. He knew the operator was going to ask him to stay on the line, but he didn't think he could do it.

* * *

Michael's eyes fell on the knife. _Shit._ “What do you want?” He asked, deciding now was about the time to drop the attitude; this was life or death.

“Hm, well I never thought about what I want from you…” They pulled the knife out of the sheath. “Just… stay quiet and don't resist. I'll figure out the rest later.” They took a step towards Michael, so Michael took a step back, but ran into the wall behind him. _Shit, shit, shit._ He was sure it was clear to them how terrified he was now, maybe he managed to hide it before, but not anymore. He glanced at the door, trying to plan an escape route.

Sebastian chuckled lowly, stepped towards Michael and pressing the knife against his neck. Michael held his breath, afraid if he breathed too deeply he'd run into the knife that was dangerously close to cutting him. He was trapped.

Michael wasn't sure if he was just hopeful and deluded, but he could've sworn he heard sirens. Sebastian must've heard them, too because they stepped away.

“Goddammit,” they muttered. Michael could practically see the gears turning behind their eyes as they quickly came up with a plan. They hastily pulled Michael away and shoved him into the nearest closet, which was in Jeremy’s bedroom. “Be quiet and don't get up until they're gone,” they instructed.

Michael was almost relieved to be here instead of between a wall and a knife. He had no plans, though, of listening to what Sebastian had said.

As soon as he heard the front door open, he started to scream as loudly as he could, kicking the closet door. He could hear the distant conversation between Sebastian and the officer.

“What was that?”

“I have no idea.” Sebastian is a pretty good actor, Michael realized.

He heard footsteps and then the closet door opened. He started struggling to his feet. “Thank fuck,” he mumbled. One of the officers helped him up while another called for medical help.

“What happened here?”

Michael wasn't sure he could cover the entire evening but did his best to summarize everything from the moment he'd arrived at Jeremy’s apartment up until now.

He was then led outside by the same officer who helped him stand while a few others frantically searched for Sebastian. From what he could gather from their various code, Sebastian had made off with one of their cars and they were going to track it. He spotted Jeremy’s car and waved weakly while the officers moved around him quickly to get back up following the missing car.

Jeremy’s eyes widened when he saw Michael, clearly injured, but not dead. He got out of the car and practically ran up to Michael, almost hugging him but stopping himself in case that hurt Michael more. “Michael, I- I’m so sorry…”

Michael coughed a bit, tasting blood but ignoring it. “Just a scratch,” he tried to joke with a weak smile, but he wasn't sure he was hitting the mark. In reality, he was pretty badly bruised, and his lip was busted open. Both of his hands were aching and his ribs were practically screaming in pain every second he was standing up.

Jeremy laughed quietly, humorlessly, tears streaming down his face. “This is all my fault…”

“Shh, I chose to come here,” Michael carefully used the hand that hurt the least to wipe away the tears, “I’m fine,” he lied.

“No, you're not. I shouldn't have let you come here in the first place, I could've dealt with them on my own,” Jeremy started to ramble a bit.

“No you couldn't’ve,” Michael shook his head, “don't blame yourself, I… way underestimated Sebastian.”

“Yes, I could've. I shouldn't have let you get hurt, I'm so sorry.”

“I'm fine,” Michael said again, though there was blood between his teeth. “It's fine.”

Jeremy noticed. “Have you been coughing up blood?” Michael frowned, bringing his hand up to his and wiping it, then looking at the blood.

“Yeah, I guess I have been,” he said, his tone way too nonchalant for what he was saying.

Jeremy looked more and more concerned. “There's an ambulance coming or something, right?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Michael said, though he still didn't sound nor feel all too concerned about it. He shrugged.

“Again, I'm really sorry,” Jeremy repeated.

“Shhh,” Michael hushed him, “it’s fine, okay?”

Jeremy looked away, clearly not believing him, but not arguing anymore. “Well, at least you're not dead.”

“That's one way to look at it,” Michael chuckled, but that led to him hacking, which led to a sharp pain shooting through his ribs, which led to him collapsing onto the ground. _Shit, maybe I should be a little bit more concerned._

“Shitshitshitshitshitshit,” Jeremy quickly knelt down next to him. He looked up and spotted the ambulance coming with some relief.

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Michael coughed once more before standing up again. He watched as the ambulance pulled in. “I'll _be_ fine, at least.” He kissed Jeremy on the forehead gently before he was led off into the ambulance.


	17. then we'll turn it up and we'll play a little faster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hospital & Rich Set A Fire & Plotting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop whoop

Michael laid in the hospital bed, examining all the bandages on his body. His torso was wrapped tightly, as well as both of his hands being in casts.

The doctors had already told him what all was broken, and because of the broken ribs, they had to check for internal bleeding. So, he just laid there and waited for anyone to come in.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opening and Jeremy looked in. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Michael greeted, but then winced at how weird and raspy his voice sounded.

“How are you feeling?” Jeremy asked, walking into the room.

“Like shit,” Michael said honestly, “but overall a lot better.”

Jeremy smiled slightly, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. “I'm sorry for letting this happen to you.”

“Stop blaming yourself,” Michael said with a firmness that startled Jeremy, “I’m just glad it wasn't you.”

“I feel like it's my fault, though.”

“It's not, I was a dumbass who thought I could take them,” Michael rolled his eyes at his own stupidity.

“I shouldn't have let you go in the first place.”

“Hush,” Michael replied, “I volunteered to go. The important thing is that you’re safe.”

“I probably would've been fine,” Jeremy mumbled.

Michael frowned, looking away. “They were… _there._ Just… _waiting_ for you. It didn't seem safe. But it's over now, and I'm fine.”

As if on cue, a doctor walked in speaking in that clinical doctor voice. “The scans came back showing one of your broken ribs very likely punctured an organ. We’ll have to operate very soon.”

Michael sighed. That wasn't helping his ‘I’m fine.’

Jeremy looked a bit shaken by this, but spoke calmly to the doctor. “Should I leave…?”

The doctor nodded. Michael sighed, rolling his eyes. “Alright…”

Jeremy turned back to Michael. “I guess I’ll see you later?” He smiled slightly, but again it didn't seem real, before he walked out.

* * *

Michael woke up somehow in more pain than he had been in before. The same doctor talked to him in the same monotone voice about what happened. Michael was hardly listening.

Then the doctor walked out, informing Jeremy he could go back in and see Michael again, though he didn't look too good.

“Oh, hey,” Michael tried smile as Jeremy walked in.

“Hey,” Jeremy smiled back. The doctor was right, Michael certainly did not look his best.

Michael tried to sit up, but pain shot through his entire body. “Fuck,” he mumbled, accepting his fate and laying back down. “I'm glad it was you coming in and not another friggin’ doctor.”

Jeremy snickered quietly. “How many doctors have you see today?”

“Too many,” Michael sighed, “and they all have the same questions. ‘How're you feeling?’ ‘Does anything hurt?’ Like, no shit.”

“Well, it’s not like they can feel what you're feeling.” Jeremy shrugged.

“Yeah,” he grumbled, “but it's gets tiring. And a doctor expects a more detailed answer than ‘I feel like shit.’”

“Hmm,” Jeremy hummed. He took a seat in one of the chairs next to the hospital bed.

Michael hesitated. “Any updates from the police?”

Jeremy shrugged in response. “I heard they got Sebastian. Barely, though. They were not willing to go with the officers.”

“Yeah, well, criminals don't tend to like it when the cops catch them.” He intended for it to be a joke, but it was a bit too real.

“Yeah…”

Michael winced. “That was supposed to be a joke, but it wasn't really that funny.” Jeremy just shrugged in reply. Michael finally pushed himself up despite the pain. “You okay?” He asked in reference to Jeremy’s silence.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, it really is over now,” Michael reminded him, “the cops have Sebastian now.”

“I know, it's just…” Jeremy sighed. “It's just weird, y’know? My crazy ex, who was so horrible to me, beat me black and blue when we we were alone, who told me I was worthless, pathetic, and worth nothing, randomly shows up after eleven years, looking for me. _Wanting_ something from me. I was terrified.” He laughed, although there was nothing funny about anything he just said. “Like, who the fuck does that?” They were both silent for a moment before Jeremy broke the silence again. “I shouldn't have let you go. I should've known they were going to hurt you.”

Michael wanted to take Jeremy’s hand, but he couldn't with both hands in casts. “Jeremy…” he mumbled, “I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let them anywhere near you, let alone just let you go to them.”

“I would've been fine. I'm not seventeen anymore, I can defend myself.”

“I thought I could defend myself, too,” Michael pointed out.

“Well, I’d much rather get hurt than let them wound you.” Jeremy looked at the ground.

“What's done is done,” Michael sighed, knowing that he couldn't convince Jeremy that it was better that he was safe. “And I'm okay now,” he shrugged, though it hurt a bit to move.

“Yeah,” Jeremy smiled slightly, “at least you're okay.”

“And you don't have to deal with them ever again,” Michael added.

“Hopefully.”

Michael frowned, but was silent for a moment before he spoke. “They're going to jail. If not for assault, than for evading arrest and grand theft auto.”

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, there's no way they're not going to prison.”

“So you're safe from them.” Michael said with finality.

“I suppose I am,” Jeremy smiled slightly.

“I'd go through that whole experience a million times over again if it meant you were safe.”

“I'm not that important,” Jeremy mumbled.

“You are to me,” Michael said quietly, looking away as his face started to turn just slightly pink.

“What's so great about me?” Jeremy’s cheeks were also tinted pink.

Michael paused to think about this; he'd been asking himself the same thing since the beginning of their relationship (or non-relationship, as it were.) “Something about you. I haven't figured it out yet,” he admitted, “but I love you, nonetheless.”

“Well, I love you, too.” Jeremy replied softly.

Michael smiled, wanting so badly to kiss Jeremy, but he could just barely sit up, let alone lean over and kiss him. He felt a strange sense of frustration as he realized he couldn't do most affectionate things for awhile, since both of his hands were out of commission and his ribs still hurt with every movement. He settled, instead, for saying, “I really wanna kiss you right now.”

Jeremy laughed. “Oh, okay.” He leaned over with red cheeks and kissed Michael gently. He was careful not to bump his torso or one of his hands. Michael sighed contentedly, kissing back as best he could at the slightly awkward angle.

“It's gonna be pretty frustrating not being able to do that whenever I want anymore.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed. He was silent for a moment before a realization hit him. “How are you supposed to do _anything_ when both of your hands are messed up?”

“Telepathy,” Michael snorted, “but, uh, I honestly don't know…” he looked at both of his hands, wondering how he could do any work with either of his hands.

“I could help you?” Jeremy suggested.

As much as Michael didn't want to accept the help, he wasn't in a position to deny it. “Yeah, that'd be nice.” Jeremy grinned a little.

“Alright, Jeremiah Heere, at your service,” he saluted with a quiet snicker. Michael rolled his eyes.

“You're such a dork.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The door to the hospital room suddenly burst open, causing Michael to jump a bit, and Nicole walked in, already shouting.

“Why are you in the hospital and why wasn't I told until-” she glanced down at her phone, “-seventeen minutes ago?!”

“I- um- hi…” Jeremy greeted quietly.

“Hi, Nicole,” Michael sighed, “it’s a long story- wait who even told you I was in the hospital?”

“Your boyfriend, as if he didn't expect me to come?!” Nicole said in exasperated tone. “Jesus, Mikey.”

“Sorry,” Jeremy muttered.

“It's fine, I should've let her know sooner,”  
Michael replied.

“Damn right you should've!” She sat down in one of the chairs next to Jeremy. “Explain,” she demanded, looking between both of them.

“Um…” Jeremy trailed off, before recounting everything that led up to Michael being there in the hospital. “Did I leave anything important out?” He said to Michael.

“I think that's everything,” Michael nodded.

“What the actual fuck…” she mumbled, still processing everything, “are you okay?”

“I'm fine, Nic,” Michael sighed.

“Are _you_ okay?” She said, turning to Jeremy.

“I’m fine, it's just been kind of a rough day.”

“I can only imagine,” she mumbled. She looked again at Michael. “So what's the damage here?”

“Uh,” Michael tried to recall everything the doctors had said, “this hand is broken in three places,” he waved his right hand, “and the other is broken in five, and I've got two broken ribs. That's the major stuff, at least.”

“Jesus,” Jeremy muttered. He hadn't realized how bad it was.

“I think I did most of the damage to my hands myself.

“We should start taking those karate classes again, remember that?” Nicole laughed. “We were like, twelve, and thought we were such badasses.”

Michael laughed too. “If only I remember anything from them.”

Jeremy snickered. “I suppose that would've been helpful.”

The door to the hospital room opened again to reveal Rich. “I came asth sthoon asth I heard.” He walked over to Jeremy. “Why didn't you tell me earlier?”

Jeremy shrugged. “I didn't think about telling you until then. Sorry.”

“This is some kind of weird reunion,” Michael mumbled.

Nicole eyed Rich suspiciously. “And you are?”

“Richard Goransthki,” he responded promptly to Nicole's question, also eyeing her, “and you?”

“Nicole Flores,” she answered, “you a friend of Jeremy’s?”

“Yeah.” Rich sat down on the other side of Jeremy.

Michael laughed lightly. “I wish you two could've met under better circumstances.”

Rich chuckled. “Yeah, I guessth thisth isthn’t really an ideal way to meet sthomeone.”

Michael coughed as he tried to laugh. “Yeah, but at least everything is okay now. I mean, at least I'm not coughing up blood anymore-”

“ _You were coughing up blood?!_ ” Nicole screeched. 

“Yeah…” Michael replied sheepishly.

“I sthwear to God, I'm going to kill Sthebasthian the next time I sthee him,” Rich muttered.

“I'll join you,” Nicole huffed.

“Good luck with that…” Jeremy sighed.

“Whoever this Sebastian person is, I'm going to hurt them.”

“Nic, it's not worth it. The cops have them already.” Michael rolled his eyes.

“I'm sthill going to kill them.” Rich grumbled.

“Me too,” Nicole interjected.

“Well, at least you're bonding over something,” Michael shrugged with a soft chuckle.

Jeremy snickered a bit too. “Yeah.”

“I read somewhere the the fastest way to bond with someone is over shared negative opinions instead of positive ones,” Nicole said.

Michael thought about it for a moment before he spoke. “Yeah that makes sense.” Jeremy and Rich both nodded in agreement. “So you and Rich should get on like a house fire,” he added with a small laugh.

“Ha! I've already sthet a housthe on fire before!” Rich exclaimed. He paused before adding, “On accident, of coursthe.”

“Wait what- you set a house on fire?” Michael asked, his mouth agape.

“Uh… yeah,” Rich rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly.

Michael bit his lip. He could tell there was a story there, but Rich was clearly uncomfortable, so he didn't want to press. He did note that that must be the explanation for the red scars on Rich’s arms, shoulders, and neck.

Nicole, however, didn't have such tact. “How exactly did that just… happen?”

“Dropped a match…” Rich muttered.

“Did no one ever teach you fire safety?” Nicole asked while laughing. Rich shrugged, also laughing a bit. “Wait… whose house did you burn down?”

“I forgot histh name, but it wasth sthome dude I wasth friendsth with,” Rich shrugged.

“Jeez,” Nicole laughed, “first you burn down his house, then you forget his name?”

“Hey, I haven’t stheen him in yearsth!” Rich said in his defense.

“Okay, but you'd think you'd remember the guy whose house you burned down,” Nicole pointed out.

“Well, he wasth super cute, histh parentsth were on the run at the time, he wasth pretty popular, I wasth pretty closthe to him but we losth contact after high schthool. I think histh name wasth… Jake… and-” Rich stopped, a realization hitting him. “Oh my god, I'm sthuch an idiot.”

“Wait, Jake as in your-fucking-boyfriend-Jake?” Michael burst out laughing.

“You burnt down your _boyfriend’s_ house?” Nicole asked in disbelief.

“Always though he looked familiar…” Jeremy mused.

“It wasth like, over ten yearsth ago! I didn't know he'd end up being my boyfriend! Oh my god, why doesth he even like me?” Rich hid his face in his hands. 

“That's _insane_. You burnt down your future boyfriend’s house.” Nicole was laughing so hard there were tears starting to form in her eyes.

“What're the odds?” Michael asked. He was laughing too, but mostly at how hard Nicole was laughing, and he had to be careful because of his ribs.

“I guessth we were justh desthined to be together,” Tich commented, also laughing.

“Psh, ‘destined to be together,’” Michael rolled his eyes, “I don't know if that's romantic or just ridiculous. Probably both.”

“Definitely both,” Nicole nodded.

“I wonder if Jake even remembers that you burned down his house ten or so years ago,” Jeremy added.

“Oh my god, you should totally ask him!” Nicole said excitedly.

“Yeah, I probably sthould.” Rich shrugged.

“Text him!” Nicole encouraged. She was clearly living for the drama. “This is amazing.”

“Um, okay.”

>> **you** : Hey, Jakey D

“Jakey D?” Nicole read off Rich’s phone with raised brows.

“Shut up, it’sth justh a nickname that I usthe for him,” Rich grumbled in embarrassment.

“Ooh, he's typing!” Nicole pointed to the screen.

“Calm down there, Nic.” Michael rolled his eyes fondly.

“Isth it really that excthiting?” Rich asked, snickering a little.

“Listen, I haven't had any drama since those two,” she pointed to Michael and the Jeremy, “sorted themselves out,” she sighed dramatically, “and I haven't had a girlfriend in like a year.”

>> **Jakey D** : Hey, Richie G

“Well, I hope Jake doesthn’t hate my after thisth.”

>> **you** : So, I was just wondering if you remember your junior year of high school?  
>at the Halloween party?  
>when your house got burned down?

>> **Jakey D** : uh yeah?  
>why?

>> **you** : I just remembered that was kind of me who caused it  
>so I wanted to apologize  
>I'm a terrible boyfriend I know

There was a long pause. “Why isn't he responding?” Nicole whined.

>> **Jakey D** : what  
>I mean that was like  
>twelve-ish years ago  
>consider it forgiven babe

>> **you** : wait, so you don't hate me?

>> **Jakey D** : No?  
>I'm a little confused as to how this came up  
>but no

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Well that was anticlimactic.”

“What'd he say?” Michael asked, so Nicole read off the texts.

“What did you expect? It was a long time ago,” Jeremy said to Nicole.

“I dunno, something more dramatic. Like a soap opera. Specifically those Spanish soap operas, those are good.”

“Hm, I've never watched a Spanish soap opera,” Jeremy shrugged.

“Yeah, that’sth ‘costh you're too busthy watching porn,” Rich shot back with a snicker.

Jeremy's face reddened. “Porn isn't the only thing I watch!”

“Oh, right, can't forget about anime-”

Michael put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing while Nicole fake coughed and said, “weeb.”

“I stopped watching anime like five years ago!”

“Whatever you sthay, Phoenix Wright.”

“Anime?” Michael finally piped up.

“Shut up,” Jeremy mumbled, extremely embarrassed.

“Anime and porn, I feel like I'm really getting to know you,” Nicole nodded sarcastically. “Seriously, though, Mikey, you've gotta show him those Spanish soap operas we used to watch. Holy shit.”

Michael laughed. “‘¡No me toques, vete al diablo!’”

“‘¡Te voy a matar!’” Nicole responded in kind. They both held a serious expression for a moment before bursting out laughing.

Jeremy snickered, not understanding a single word. “Sounds interesting.”

“It is, you don't even have to understand Spanish for it to be funny. There's so much unnecessary slapping.” Nicole laughed. “Mikey and I used to watch them together all the time, but since he's a busy lawyer now, we haven't really had the time.”

“We can whenever I'm out of here and have my next day off?” Michael suggested.

“Would we be allowed to join you?” Rich asked, motioning to him and Jeremy.

“Of course,” Michael said at the same time as Nicole said;

“No.”

They looked at each other, engaging in one of those silent-best-friend-conversations. Nicole frowned. “Sure, fine.”

“We don't have to,” Rich said, aware that Nicole still wasn't totally on board with the idea. 

Michael rolled his eyes. “It's fine, she's just upset that I have more friends than her now.”

“Am not!” She protested. Michael looked at her and after another moment of silent communication she spoke again. “Yeah, okay, maybe a little.”

“Don't worry, we’re not gonna stheal him from you or anything.” Rich laughed quietly.

“You better not,” she said, pointedly glaring at Jeremy.

“Nic, stop,” Michael rolled his eyes fondly, “I promise as soon as I'm out of here, we can hang out just the two of us.”

“Ooh, Jeremy we sthould hang out then.” Rich smiled.

“Just don't ambush me with a water balloon as soon as I step into my apartment.”

“No promisthesth.”

“Wait, no, if you're gonna do that I wanna join you!” Nicole protested. “We could do it to both of them,” she said to Rich, motioning to Jeremy and Michael.

“Ooh, yesth,” Rich smiled deviously. 

“I can hear you,” Jeremy commented, although neither of them seemed to care.

“Shhh, we’re plotting,” Nicole replied.

“We should be on alert with these two working together,” Michael said to Jeremy.

“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed.

“Here, lemme give you my number so we can plot in peace,” Nicole said, glaring at Jeremy and Michael.

Rich also glared at them. “Yeah.” And he passed his phone over to Nicole. Nicole swiftly added her name and number.

“There.” She passed the phone back to him.

“Thanksth.”

Michael sighed. “Well, I'm stuck here for another two days so plot around that.”

There was a soft knock on the door before a nurse opened it and informed them that visiting hours would be ending in about five minutes.

Michael sighed. “Fun’s over, I guess.”

“Well, I supposthe I sthould be headed out then,” Rich stood, “I hope you recover soon, Michael.” He waved once before leaving.

Jeremy looked over at Michael. “Do you want me to do anything for you while I'm at work tomorrow? Like, not your paperwork and such, I can't do that legally, but anything other than that.”

“Just… let the higher ups know what happened and why I'm not there?” He shrugged. There was much else to do.

Nicole got up, giving Michael a ginger hug. “I'll be leaving now, too.”

“Bye, Nic.”

Jeremy stood next, gently kissing Michael on the cheek. “I guess I’ll go as well. Love you,” he smiled.

“Love you too.”


	18. take back everything you ever said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home & Fear Tactics & Hesitation/Doubt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all I have to say is
> 
> choo choo bitches

Michael sighed, despite being grateful as the doctor informed him he could leave now. The last two days hadn't been totally awful, but they were exactly fun.

He fumbled with the pen handed to him- _seriously who gives someone with two broken hands a pen?!_ \- but eventually managed to sign his name on the release papers. Jeremy had already agreed to drive him home since he couldn't drive without his hands either.

There was a _lot_ he couldn't do until his casts came off.

Jeremy was waiting for Michael in the lobby, smiling when he walked in. He stood from the chair he was in and walked towards Michael. “Hey, ready to go?”

“Yeah, finally,” Michael breathed out a slight laugh.

They walked to Jeremy’s car and hopped in. Jeremy started to drive to Michael’s apartment.

“Are you feeling any less like shit?”

Michael nodded, laughing a bit. “Yeah, I mean, my hand don't really hurt anymore and my ribs are just sore, but it's getting better.”

“That's good.”

“Can't wait to get home, though. Hospitals suck,” he sighed. “Are you still planning on staying at my place for awhile?”

“If that's okay with you,” Jeremy said with some uncertainty. “I can help with some stuff while I'm there if you need it.”

“You're always welcome,” Michael said softly. “And, yeah, I could use the help.” He admitted.

“Alright.”

The car pulled into the apartment complex parking lot, and after fumbling for a moment with the seat belt, Michael managed to get out. Though, once he got to the door, he realized he couldn't open it. Jeremy followed behind him with an amused smile.

Jeremy opened the door. Michael pouted, crossing his arms and glaring at Jeremy as he walked in. Once he was back in his apartment, he flopped down the couch. He was really relieved to be back home. Jeremy sat down next to him.

“So, is there anything you want me to do right now?” He asked.

“Just sit with me? I haven't gotten to see you much in the last few days,” he said, putting his arms around Jeremy’s neck, careful not to use his hands.

“Okay,” Jeremy replied with a small smile. Michael pulled him closer and kissed him, glad that he could do that now without having to use his hands or move his body too much. Jeremy kissed back, his eyes fluttering shut and placing a hand on Michael’s hip.

Michael sighed contentedly into the kiss, pulling away only when he needed to breathe. “I love you,” he mumbled.

“I love you, too,” Jeremy muttered in reply, his cheeks starting to turn slightly pink. Michael ran his thumb over Jeremy’s cheek, still being conscious of his casts.

“You're blushing,” he mumbled.

“I know,” Jeremy said, his face only turning more and more pink.

“It's cute,” Michael laughed to himself, feeling his own face start to heat up.

“You're cute,” Jeremy responded, giggling a bit as well.

“Nah,” Michael scrunched up his nose, “there's always a ‘cute one’ in relationships, and that's you.”

Jeremy blushed even more. “I'm not cute.”

“You are,” Michael insisted with a soft laugh.

“No, I'm noooot,” Jeremy whined.

“You are, you're absolutely adorable,” he chuckled, “and whining isn't really helping your point.”

“Shh, I'm not adorable,” Jeremy mumbled.

“Mm, but you are,” Michael replied.

“I am not.”

“You are.”

“I'm _not._ ” Jeremy insisted.

“Hush, you are,” Michael said, and before Jeremy could protest again he leaned in and kissed him again. Jeremy sighed and returned the kiss. “You're cute, no more arguing,” Michael said as he pulled away just slightly.

“Fine,” Jeremy muttered.

Michael smiled triumphantly. He heard his phone buzz, and, assuming it was Nicole asking if he was home safe, he picked it up and read the text.

>> **Unknown Number** : This isn't over

He blinked, reading the text over and over until the words stopped seeming like words. Jeremy was able to read it from the angle he was at, and he seemed stunned too.

“Um…”

“I'm sure it's nothing,” Michael said quickly, setting his phone back down, “now where were we?” He attempted to flirt, putting his arms back around Jeremy’s neck, though he still felt uneasy. Jeremy seemed to pick up on this, though and offered a nervous smile. Michael tried to return it, but his phone buzzed again and they both jumped. “I'm just going to ignore it.”

“O-Okay.”

It went off again, and Michael winced. He reached over and muted his phone without looking at all at the notifications. “There…” he mumbled. Jeremy’s eyes skirted over to the phone nervously. “I'm sure it's nothing. A wrong number,” he repeated himself, trying to convince both of them. 

“Yeah.”

“I'll just- tell the person they have the wrong number,” he shrugged, picking up his phone.

>> **Unknown Number** : You can't get rid of me that easily  
>You should tell Jeremy for me

Michael bit his lip, finding it harder to insist it was a wrong number when they mentioned Jeremy by name.

>> **you** : I think you have the wrong number.

>> **Unknown Number** : Michael, I know this is your number. Stop lying.

Michael was visibly more shaken up by this reply, but remained silent, staring at his phone. _Keep playing dumb._

>> **you** : This isn't Michael. Seriously, I think you have the wrong number.

>> **Unknown Number** : Fine, I suppose I'll text Jeremy instead then.

Michael bit back the urge to tell them to leave Jeremy alone. That would blow his cover.

A few moments later, Jeremy’s phone buzzed. They both jumped again, looking at Jeremy’s phone.

“Shit,” Michael mumbled, silently praying it was just Rich texting Jeremy.

Jeremy picked up his phone and checked the messages to see that it was the number that had texted him a few days ago- Sebastian. It read:

>> **Sebastian** : Tell Michael that I don't believe him when he says I've got the wrong number.

All of the air left Jeremy’s lungs.

“He doesn't believe you when you say it's a wrong number.”

“Oh,” Michael said quietly. “How the hell did they get my number…” he muttered, looking at his phone.

Jeremy shrugged. “They do a lot of unexplainable things.”

“This either means they got a phone into the jail, or… they got out.”

“Sneaking a phone in is almost impossible,” Jeremy tried to sound calm, but with every second he was growing more and more anxious.

“But like, they'd find a way,” Michael shrugged, really trying to believe that. The alternative was too stressful.

“Y-Yeah.”

“They're just trying to scare us,” Michael nodded, willing them both to believe it, “I’m sure it's nothing.”

Michael's phone went off again, but this time it was a call from a different number. He hesitantly picked it up.

“Hello?” The person on the other end started talking, and Michael responded with, “mhm, mhm, yes I understand. Mhm,” over and over in a solemn tone. Once the call was over, though, his demeanor shifted entirely.

“Who was that?” Jeremy asked.

“Uh,” Michael fumbled, “the police.”

“Oh,” Jeremy was silent for a moment before nervously inquiring, “what was the call about?”

Michael paused, grinding his teeth nervously. “Uh,” he looked away, “Sebastian, uh,” his eyes danced around the room, “broke out.”

“They what?!” Jeremy shrieked, all of his worry spilling over.

Michael bit his lip. “They got out,” he repeated, even quieter.

“H-How?” Jeremy stammered, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable.

“The police didn't really s-specify, they just said that- um-” he tried to recall everything they'd told him, “they're out, and for our safety, they're sending some police to act as security around my apartment and um- we should report any suspicious activity.”

“O-Okay.”

“So we should probably show them the texts,” Michael added.

“Mm,” Jeremy tightened his grip on his phone subconsciously.

“Hey,” Michael said, “we’re gonna be okay,” he tried to be comforting.

“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked, obviously not believing him.

“Yeah,” though he wasn't.

Jeremy was silent for a bit. He took a shaky breath. “Yeah,” he repeated back, “we’re fine.”

Michael glanced out the window to see police lights approaching. “See? We're safe here. Breathe,” he instructed, noticing how shaky Jeremy’s breathing was. Jeremy tried to do as he was told, but struggled. “It's okay, you're okay, just breathe,” Michael took a slow breath as an example. Jeremy breathed like Michael had done, although it was still wavering. “I won't let them hurt you, you're safe,” he continued to breathe in slow breaths for Jeremy.

“I'm not safe from them, I never am,” Jeremy mumbled, forgetting to breathe slowly.

“You are,” Michael insisted, “I promise. Breathe,” he instructed again.

“How do you know?” Jeremy tried to get his breathing back in check.

“Because I'm not letting them get anywhere near you ever again,” he said firmly, and then shifted his tone to be more gentle, “good, just keep breathing.” Jeremy nodded, continuing to breathe slowly. “You're safe here,” Michael mumbled, “just keep breathing.”

There was a knock on the door, presumably one of the police. “I'll be right back, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

Michael got up, fumbling for a moment with the doorknob before managing to open it by using what was free of his fingers to turn it. Sure enough, there was a police officer there.

“I'm just here to inform you that we have the building securely surrounded. Is there anything you have to report to us?”

“Yeah, um,” he grabbed his phone, unlocking it and opening the texts from Sebastian to show them.

The officer wrote something down on their notepad. “Alright. Thank you.” They gave Michael a quick nod before the door was shut. Michael quickly went back over to Jeremy, who was leaning back a little on the couch. He was clearly trying to keep his breathing under control, but still struggling. Michael sat down next to him, pulling him into a hug. “It's okay, we’re safe.”

“I'm sorry for worrying, I'm sorry for letting this happen I'm sorry f-”

“Jeremy, shhhhhh,” Michael quickly cut him off, “this isn't your fault.”

“No, it is,” Jeremy continued to insist, pushing away a bit. “Right before Sebastian got arrested, they texted me. They told m-me to call a certain number and tell the person on the other end that they were g-going to prison here- I had to s-s-state the name of it- and tha-a-t they wanted to see them, a-and eventually I did it because I'm a fucking idiot who's too sc-scared to disobey them. And I'm sure that that person he-helped them escape.”

“Jeremy, you were scared. You were worried, you weren't thinking clearly. I would've done the same thing if I was in your position,” Michael pulled him back into an even tighter hug. Jeremy returned the hug, though he didn't feel deserving of it. “This isn't your fault,” Michael said quietly, rubbing small circles on Jeremy’s back.

“Yes, it is,” Jeremy mumbled weakly.

“No, it's not,” Michael said firmly. Jeremy stayed silent, deciding not to protest anymore. “Please don't blame yourself.”

“I can't, I feel like it's my fault.”

“Jeremy…” Michael pulled away, looking Jeremy in the eye, “this isn't your fault.”

“You're just saying that,” Jeremy mumbled.

Michael frowned sadly. “I'm not. I don't blame you.”

“I wish I wasn't scared of them,” Jeremy said quietly.

“You have every right to be,” Michael reminded him, “from what you've told me and from what I've experienced, they _are_ scary.” Jeremy nodded slightly. “But, if they come anywhere near the apartment, there's police everywhere who are bound to see them,” Michael said to remind both of them.

“Yeah… that's good,” Jeremy smiled weakly.

“Yeah, so,” Michael sighed, “we’re safe from them.”

“I guess,” Jeremy mumbled.

Michael breathed out slowly, feeling his ribs ache. “Shit,” he removed one arm from around Jeremy and wrapped it around his midsection.

“Oh, shit, sorry, d-did I hurt you?” Jeremy pulled away slightly, worried he had caused Michael pain.

“No, no,” Michael said quickly, “just… sore.”

“Oh, okay,” Jeremy said with relief. Michael tried to smile, though he was still wincing slightly from pain.

“Just a scratch, remember?”

“I'm pretty sure you have to go to the hospital for just a scratch.”

“Fair enough,” Michael shrugged, sighing slightly. “But, hey, it’ll heal. Just like a scratch would.” He tried to joke to lighten the heavy mood.

Jeremy snickered a little. “Yeah.” Michael smiled, happy he'd gotten even a small laugh out of Jeremy. He looked at him, the affection clear in his eyes.

“I love you,” he said quietly as if just reminding Jeremy.

Jeremy didn't say or do anything for a moment before grinning slightly. “I love you, too.”

Michael frowned at what he perceived to be hesitation. “You, uh, you don't have to say it back if you don't mean it...” he mumbled.

“I do,” Jeremy said hastily, “I just didn't know how to respond for a moment, I guess. I-I'm sorry.”

“It's fine,” Michael said, though he still sounded deflated. _Now isn't exactly the time to be worried about this, _his mind criticized, _this is trivial in comparison to everything going on right now.___

____

____

“I really do love you,” Jeremy insisted, placing a hand on Michael’s shoulder.

Michael looked away. “Okay,” but he still sounded like he doubted that.


	19. you never meant a word of it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Under The Skin & Jake & An Unconventional Roadtrip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [insert long winded apology for the wait here]
> 
> a lot of shit started happenin in my life and then i got caught up in ANOTHER fic (keep an eye out for it, it's going up soon!) and yeah this is shorter than most of the chapters, but i really just wanted to get SOMETHING out to y'all before it got a monTH of no updates
> 
> TL;DR: I'm still alive and writing, sorry for the wait

The air between them was still uneasy, and both were silent. Michael shrugged off Jeremy's hand from his shoulder, trying to do so inconspicuously. Jeremy, obviously, noticed this, feeling a swimming mix of surprise and sadness.

He sighed and moved away from Michael- the message was clear to him.

“I'm- I’m sorry, I'm just being moody for no reason,” Michael sighed, “we have much bigger things to worry about right now than my stupid feelings.”

“It's fine,” Jeremy responded quietly.

Michael looked down at the space between them on the couch. He wanted to say _no, it’s not okay,_ but he wasn't sure what good it would do. A part of him wanted to move closer to Jeremy, to close the space between them, but he was the one who had created it. Instead, he shrunk back a bit, closing his eyes and willing himself not to cry- _you're being stupid, you have no reason to be this upset._

Jeremy looked over at him. “I-I’m sorry, too. I confused you and you're clearly upset.”

Michael frowned, shifting a bit. “No, it's fine, I'm just overreacting. You don't have anything to be sorry about.”

There was a long, drawn-out silence where neither of them spoke.

“Why do you even care about me?” Jeremy asked, breaking the silence. Michael was caught off guard by the question.

“What?” He was sure he'd heard him wrong.

“Why do you care about me?” Jeremy repeated with more insistence, though he averted his eyes.

“Jeremy…” Michael trailed off, trying to come up with the right words, though they evaded him. “I-I mean, I love you,” he was sure those weren't the right words and scrambled, “you're important to me, but- if that bothers you I- I can back off and stop saying it-”

“It doesn't bother me, I just don't deserve you,” Jeremy mumbled.

“That's not true,” Michael said, silently willing Jeremy to believe it. Jeremy shook his head.

“It is. You've done so much for me and I didn't deserve any of it.”

“What're you talking about? Up until pretty recently I was an ass to you,” Michael pointed out.

“You pretty much put your life on the line for me, Michael, do you not think that's a lot? Besides,” Jeremy smiled slightly, “even if you were an ass, it was kind of nice to argue with someone and be rude without fearing consequences.”

“It's not like I knew I was in any danger, it wasn't some heroic thing,” Michael mumbled dismissively, “I get what you mean, though, about that last part.” Jeremy hummed softly in reply. “But, my point is, you deserve everything,” Michael said softly.

“Not everything,” Jeremy shrugged.

“Yes everything,” Michael poked Jeremy with his foot, causing Jeremy to snicker.

“No, not everything.”

“Yes, yes everything,” Michael said, poking him again.

“Noo,” Jeremy said.

“Yesss.” Michael stuck his tongue out childishly:

“Noooo.” Jeremy returned the gesture.

“Yessssss,” Michael laughed a bit.

Jeremy also laughed quietly. “Noooooooo.”

“Yes, end of the argument. Was that an argument? Discussion,” he concluded. 

“Fine, end of discussion,” Jeremy nodded. Michael smiled, having won the debate. Jeremy grinned a little, scooting a little closer to Michael. Michael laughed softly, relieved to see the physical gap between them shrinking. Jeremy chuckled quietly as well and moved closer until they were only inches apart.

Michael breathed out, looking down at Jeremy’s lips in silent question. Jeremy seemed to understand because he leaned up and kissed him gently. Michael flushed, returning the kiss eagerly but keeping it soft and gentle. He sighed contentedly into it, moving closer to Jeremy. Jeremy smiled, placing a hand on Michael’s shoulder. Michael was thankful for it since he couldn't do much with his own hands. He rested one on Jeremy’s waist but was hardly touching him in reality.

Jeremy pulled away slightly after a few moments, still smiling a bit. Michael smiled too, but it was just a little sad. He moved one hand to carefully hold Jeremy’s face. Jeremy placed one hand over Michael’s, blushing slightly.

“Again, I’m sorry,” he sighed.

“Don’t be, it’s fine,” Michael said. In reality, the damage was already done; the doubt was too deep under his skin to dig it out now.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” he forced a smile, hoping it didn’t come off too fake. If Jeremy noticed it was fake, he didn’t say anything.

A ding rang out from Jeremy’s cellphone, but he ignored it, assuming it was Sebastian. Michael couldn’t hold the smile, though.

“Maybe you should check it, in case it’s the police or something.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy picked up his phone and checked the notification. It was from Rich.

>> **3 ounces of whoop-ass** : Sebastian’s in my house

Almost as soon as he was done reading the first one, several more came in.

>> **3 ounces of whoop-ass** : There’s a woman here too  
>They’re trying to get Jake  
>I won’t let them take him

The messages stopped and Jeremy was left stunned. He quietly passed the phone over to Michael, mumbling, “the police should probably see this.”

Michael’s eyes skimmed over the texts. “Oh fuck,” he stood quickly, taking the phone with him to the door. After fumbling a minute with the doorknob, he swung the door open and showed the officer patrolling just outside the apartment door.

“What’s the address here?” They asked. Michael turned to Jeremy since he didn’t know Rich’s address. Jeremy hastily relayed the address. The officer wrote it down on a notepad, then started talking into their radio in rapid-fire lingo. “We’ll be sending officers to that address.”

* * *

Rich stumbled backward as Sebastian delivered a blow to his gut, but reared up and returned the gesture by socking them in the jaw.

Jake was just about to throw himself into the mix, wanting to help Rich, when the woman who was waiting on the outside came after him. He blindly swung at her, and even though he felt his fist connect with her body, she hardly flinched. She managed to grab Jake and started pulling on him, though he continued to fight, thrashing around. Rich quickly glanced over to see what was happened and tried to run over and save Jake- but Sebastian took his arm and held him back with a vice-like grip.

Jake could hear distant sirens and prayed the woman could too. And she could. She quickly signaled to Sebastian, who got the message and hastily knocked Rich down on the ground roughly heading out, the woman in tow as she dragged Jake along. They went out to their car and got in while the police were still far enough away to not be able to identify them or read the license plate.

“Struggle or scream and I’ll kill you,” the woman said before transitioning from holding Jake behind the back to having a firm arm around his waist, trying to seem somewhat casual. Jake wasn’t sure he wanted to call the woman’s bluff, so he obeyed and followed as she led him to the passenger’s seat. She mumbled angrily about how the police wouldn’t even be coming here if _someone_ hadn’t been wasting their time trying to capture their boy toy from high school and ended up getting arrested, making her have to save them and practically do their actual mission for them so they don’t lose their job.

Sebastian replied with a muttered, “just drive already,” which she obeyed, rushing over to the driver’s side and getting in. Jake still wasn’t daring to speak, just complacently listening from his seat. Meanwhile, his head was running with questions. _What do either of them want with me?_ He didn’t dare ask, but the question hung heavy on his mind. 

Both the woman and Sebastian were mostly silent, though she kept glancing over at her mirrors anxiously while driving. Sebastian muttered something under their breath in Japanese and the woman responded with, “shut up, nobody understands your weeb language,” which earned her a glare. Jake had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. There was nothing funny about the situation, but combining the fact that Jake was always the type to laugh when nervous or scared and the words ‘weeb language,’ he found it difficult not to laugh.

“Are you… laughing?” Sebastian asked incredulously, noticing as Jake tried to hold it back. “Well, it’s not screaming, so I guess you can do it as long as you’re not loud or annoying,” they muttered, “I won’t hesitate to silence you, though.”

“Ooh, kinky,” the woman replied with a small snicker.

“I’m sure you’d know all about kinks and shit since you’re a prostitute,” they grumbled in reply.

“Hey, shut your trap, I quit that job four years ago. Besides, at least I’m not an insane sadist.”

“I’m not insane!”

“Sure you aren’t.”

Jake tried to glean something, _anything_ from their banter about what was going on, what either of them would want with him, but they weren’t really giving him much to work with. All he knew now was that the woman used to be a prostitute. Which, really wasn’t helpful information at all.

They continued to bicker and argue as she drove, trying to blend in with the other cars and trucks on the road before turning off. The woman still kept checking her mirrors, just in case. Jake glanced into the rearview mirror, similarly to how the woman was doing, except he noticed something she must not have; a police car. Not with its lights on, or any blatant sign that would scream _‘this is the police’_ to the fugitives. He really hoped it flew under her radar. 

She saw but ignored the car. But Sebastian didn’t. They looked a bit closer at the car using one of the mirrors before shaking her shoulder roughly.

“Go faster.”

“Don’t shake me unless you want me to crash this van. Also, I’m already at the speed limit, you want me to break _another_ law?”

“The police are close behind us,” Sebastian said hurriedly.

She sighed. “I think you’re just being paranoid. Was prison really that bad?”

“No, I’m serious!” They exclaimed.

The woman looked over slightly at one of the mirrors so that the car was visible to her. “Look, crazy, it’s just a normal car-” she paused, squinting. “Alright, so maybe it is the cops.”

“You should’ve listened to me. Now step on it or they’re going to catch up to us!”

“You’re not the boss of me,” she muttered, though she complied.


	20. you never did

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comfort & Job & Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to goranthki on bmca for reminding me people are actually reading this and would probably like an update
> 
> yall mostly have that person to thank for me deciding to finish this chapter (i've been sitting on 500 words since early november)
> 
>  
> 
> **mcuhhh theres some violence n blood yo**

Jake silently cursed Sebastian’s attentiveness. He still had hope, though, that the police would catch up to them despite the increased speed. He slowly reached for his phone in his pocket.

Sebastian’s eyes followed his hand dangerously. They said nothing but kept a close eye on him. Jake froze his hand in place, waiting patiently for Sebastian to look away. It took a moment, but eventually, Sebastian shifted his focus elsewhere.

Jake quickly took his phone out, keeping it as well hidden as he could, and texted Rich.

>> **you** : I’m alive  
>In a van  
>Not sure what’s happening  
>Don’t text back can risk the noise

He managed to see the little ‘read’ pop up before he clicked off his phone. He glanced over at the woman, and then at Sebastian, trying to glean _something_ from this situation.

“How much longer until we actually get to where we’re going?” Sebastian asked anxiously. 

“We should be close,” the woman said and Jake tried to inconspicuously glance around and figure out what they were close _to_. “But I don’t know if we should stop yet…”

* * *

Meanwhile, Jeremy was curled up in a ball on the couch with Michael sitting in the remaining space. Worry, fear, and guilt were all plaguing him as Michael slowly stroked his hair to calm him.

“It’s fine, I’m sure everything is okay,” he mumbled.

“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked weakly.

“Positive,” Michael tried to smile reassuringly, “the police probably have Sebastian right now.”

“Maybe,” Jeremy muttered. 

“I’m sure of it,” Michael tried to lie convincingly, still carding his fingers through Jeremy’s hair, “everything’s okay.” Jeremy sighed and tried to focus on the feeling of Michael’s fingers threading through his hair steadily and relax. Jeremy tried to make himself believe what Michael was saying, but it was difficult.

After a while of silence, Jeremy spoke. “I should’ve just given myself up and let them have me, at least then we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he mumbled. And Michael tensed up, his fingers freezing where they were. Which, admittedly, was not something Jeremy had expected.

“No,” Michael sounded like he was trying to not sound upset, but he was.

“Wh-Why? Everything would’ve been fine.”

Michael moved his hand away slightly, trying to articulate how he felt. And failing for a moment. He almost felt hurt that Jeremy clearly couldn’t see how much he cared about him.

“No it woudn’t’ve,” he said quietly, “I-” he bit his lip, cutting himself off. He wasn’t really sure where he was going with that sentence, anyway, but he still hadn’t forgotten Jeremy’s hesitation to return the ‘I love you,’ and it made him unsure of everything.

They were both silent for a long stretch of time that seemed to last forever. “I’m sorry,” Jeremy broke the silence, apologizing for the millionth time.

“It’s not your fault,” Michael replied for the millionth time. A part of him wondered what was going on in Jeremy’s thoughts, but another part of him wondered if he would actually want to know. He resumed running his hands through Jeremy’s hair.

Jeremy sighed softly. “I don’t deserve your affection or forgiveness, I should have been the one to get hurt,” he muttered quietly.

“Jeremy, no,” Michael sat up a bit, unsure how to comfort him any further than playing with his hair.

“It’s true,” Jeremy insisted. He glanced around a bit to see a kitchen knife resting on a counter. He remembered when Sebastian sometimes used to drag a knife across his skin, leaving trails of red across his pale skin. He caught himself staring at it and looked away, trembling slightly.

“Hey, look at me,” Michael said, his voice a bit more demanding still sounding distraught. He lifted Jeremy’s face a bit and made steady eye contact. “You deserve to be treated right,” he said in the same demanding, serious tone. Jeremy couldn’t hold the eye contact anymore and averted his eyes.

“O-Okay,” he stammered quietly.

“I just- I don’t want you to ever think that whatever they did to you was… justified,” Michael sighed, keeping his eyes firmly trained on Jeremy despite Jeremy having looked away. Jeremy just nodded slightly in reply. Michael finally moved his gaze, looking off into the distance and sighing quietly. He went back to playing with Jeremy’s hair absentmindedly as Jeremy lied back down.

* * *

Sebastian hastily dragged Jake into a small, empty apartment while the woman waited in the van, watching for the police- they had lost them, but they could never be too safe in this line of work. Sebastian shut the door and started to speak;

“Jacob, I really wish I could spend more time with you. Catch up. It’s been awhile. But unfortunately, I have a job to do,” they said, reminiscing high school for a moment before pulling out a pistol that the woman had passed to him.

 _Oh fuck,_ was the only thing that crossed Jake’s mind. He took a few steps back. “Whoa there-” he said, still not sure what they wanted with him. Sebastian took a step closer.

“Don’t move” they commanded as they aimed at him. “This’ll be over much more quickly if you stay still.”

Jake glanced at the door once before bolting towards it and throwing it open. Sebastian hurriedly reached out and grabbed Jake’s arm in an attempt to keep him from leaving. Jake struggled against them, shouting as loudly as he could, “Help!” in the hopes someone would hear. 

The woman had left the van a bit ago when it seemed to be taking too long, and Jake’s yelling captured her attention. She motioned to Sebastian to get a move on by tapping her wrist and drawing a finger over her neck to signify the severity of the consequences of being too slow. And she wasn’t exaggerating, if they failed their mission and managed to not get arrested again, they would have to face the boss once they got back to headquarters. That would not end will. 

They quickly focused back on what they were doing and fired the gun, hoping they had hit where they were aiming for. Jake almost saw the bullet in slow motion, just managing to clip his side, which hurt like a bitch but- he knew it wasn’t going to kill him. He could sense the urgency though and pretended the injury was more serious than it was in the hopes that they’d buy it and leave.

Sebastian had their suspicions that Jake was not as injured as he seemed, but they didn’t have the time to check. So instead, they ran off with the woman back to the van.

 _Oh thank God,_ Jake thought. He pushed himself up, holding his side. He quickly grabbed his phone, dialing Rich’s number. “Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up-”

 _“Oh my god, Jake, are you okay?”_ Rich sounded like he’d been crying, which wasn’t something he did very often.

“Ah-” Jake gasped sharply, his side shocking him with a sudden wave of pain. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he half-lied, “I-I’ve been shot, though, so, um…” he trailed off.

_“Oh god. I’ll get sthomone to sthend an ambulancthe to you. W-Where are you right now?”_

“Um, shit-” Jake glanced around, spotting an address on the building and quickly reading it off to Rich. 

_“Okay, okay,”_ Rich stayed on the phone as he went over to the police officer still patrolling around his place and relayed the address to them and what happened. 

Jake sat back down, holding his side tightly. He moved his hand to look at it, seeing how much blood was spilling from the wound. _Shit, shit, shit._ He pressed down on the wound firmly, hoping to lessen the bleeding.

 _“How bad isth the injury?”_ Rich asked a few moments later, mostly out of worry.

“Uh, it's pretty minor? Like it just nicked my side,” he explained, “but it’s bleeding pretty badly…” he sighed, leaning back against the wall and taking deep breaths.

_“Alright… I’m glad you’re alive.”_

Jake tried to laugh. “I’m glad to be alive.” Rich laughed a little as well, but it was forced. “I don’t know what they wanted with me,” Jake said. It had been bothering him the whole time.

 _“I don’t either…”_ Rich sighed. It kind of confused him- there had to be a reason why they had done what they did. 

“They talked like they had some kind of… plan. And a boss. But not enough time to make sure I was actually dead…” Jake listed off everything he’d gathered so far.

_“Weird…”_

“I think I can hear sirens,” Jake sighed with relief. His side was aching.

 _“That’sth good,”_ Rich replied quietly.

“Yeah. I’ve gotta hang up now though. I love you,” he said. They weren’t a particularly affectionate couple, but given the circumstances, it felt important to say.

 _“I love you, too. Bye.”_

And with that, the call ended. Jake put his phone into his pocket, pushing himself up to stand and walk towards the door as the sirens got closer.


End file.
